Some forum questions.

[sk8harddiefast]

Well. At this moment forum have 19,455 people. But in reality how much we are? I mean some people create an account just to ask a question or test FreeBSD just to see what is this OS and go to another one. Is any "cleaning system" to delete useless account that have one / two posts and the last activity was about 2 years ago?
What's about to create sections on forum depend on Language? For example Greek, Spanish, French etc?
Also. If someone create a port and after some time, decide to go to another OS, what's about this port? How will be updated to newer version? Or just is stack on this version and wait a new porter?

 

[Beastie]

Well. At this moment forum have 19,455 people.

Check it out now: 19,462, oops!

But in reality how much we are?

Active members? I'll speculate it's under 50. But quality counts more than quantity. :e

I mean some people create an account just to ask a question or test FreeBSD just to see what is this OS and go to another one.

They're free to come and go. Plus, a question someone asked 2 years ago may help someone else 5 years from now.
As long as it's not just useless ranting and flamewarmongering, what's the problem with a postcount of "10"?

Is any "cleaning system" to delete useless account that have one / two posts and the last activity was about 2 years ago?

Removing accounts removes all posts made by the account if I'm not mistaken. A forum with many threads/posts is better than a forum with incomprehensible threads missing half their posts.

What's about to create sections on forum depend on Language? For example Greek, Spanish, French etc?

What for? In the past 2 years, I've seen only a few people with serious English problems.

Also. If someone create a port and after some time, decide to go to another OS, what's about this port? How will be updated to newer version? Or just is stack on this version and wait a new porter?

Anyone can become a port maintainer.

 

[sk8harddiefast]

They're free to come and go. Plus, a question someone asked 2 years ago may help someone else 5 years from now
Removing accounts removes all posts made by the account if I'm not mistaken. A forum with many threads/posts is better than a forum with incomprehensible threads missing half their posts.

You have right on both of them

What for? In the past 2 years, I've seen only a few people with serious English problems.

Just is easier to speak on your language

 

[mix_room]

Just is easier to speak on your language

But for me it is much easier to speak English than it is to speak Greek, French or Spanish. English is a common language. The forum is more useful the more people can use it. English has the benefit of being a rather flat learning curve.

 

[ckester]

But for me it is much easier to speak English than it is to speak Greek, French or Spanish. English is a common language. The forum is more useful the more people can use it. English has the benefit of being a rather flat learning curve.

Like most Americans, I'm practically monolingual -- although I can read some German and even less French or Spanish.

Dutch intrigues me, since it's the language of my ancestors. But I don't know it. I can make sense of it only when it resembles what little German I do know.

Greek or Russian not at all.

As for the Asian languages...when they're not as highly nuanced as Japanese, they're using tonality to distinguish between morphemes. In both cases, I'm utterly defeated.

So please stick to English, as a favor to your ignorant American brothers.

 

[nakal]

I try my best to write in English here, but it's sometimes hard to find the proper words. It is ok for me that this forum is in English, because English has the nice feature that you can express technical concepts easily.

A bit off-topic:

But generally people should not underestimate that learning to talk a language extends your horizon. I can speak about 3 languages fluently and 1 further just a bit. And this bit of language caused that I had lots of fun and got many new friends (I don't talk about any Facebook friends here; real life, face to face).

Usually people from US think "everyone will speak our language where ever I go, so I don't care", but you surely miss a great experience. Namely to be a part of a certain culture and have the feeling of actually living in a society that accepts you as a member (and not only as a guest). Simply because you can understand and talk to them. This is showing respect towards the people when you get on the same level as they are.

 

[sossego]

Perhaps if the members in each country made a forum dedicated to the spoken and written languages followed by asking if a sticky can be posted here with a link to said forums, then those who are able to communicate in English can help those people in his or her country that can't.

In my family on my mother's side, the lingua franca is Portuguese, while the native languages are Japanese, English, German, Castilian, and Guarani. If someone cannot understand or speak Portuguese, one of the others that can speak it helps.



Apologies for the run-on sentence.

 

[ckester]

Usually people from US think "everyone will speak our language where ever I go, so I don't care", but you surely miss a great experience. Namely to be a part of a certain culture and have the feeling of actually living in a society that accepts you as a member (and not only as a guest). Simply because you can understand and talk to them. This is showing respect towards the people when you get on the same level as they are.

Oh, I definitely agree.

One of the things keeping me from developing a deeper mastery of the languages I mentioned is that, living in America, I have so little opportunity to use them. If there were a sub-forum conducted in German (or Dutch) I would certainly visit it often and maybe even embarrass myself now and then by attempting to post something to it. Hopefully, the native speakers would find my American accent and inevitable mistakes as charming as I do when they speak or write in MY language.

 

[mix_room]

If there were a sub-forum conducted in German (or Dutch) I would certainly visit it often and maybe even embarrass myself now and then by attempting to post something to it.

For german there is a great alternative at the bsdgroup.de
https://forum.bsdgroup.de/

Discussions are very helpful, has helped me substantially in the past.

 

[drhowarddrfine]

One of the things keeping me from developing a deeper mastery of the languages I mentioned is that, living in America, I have so little opportunity to use them.

That's just it. In Europe, there are many languages living close together and people there are far more likely to cross borders into those areas so learning a new language is more useful and necessary than here in the US where the whole continent speaks English.