Instance language confusion and international adaption

Hi, as an user (not hosting/admining instance), I am a bit confused on the instance language on the about page and wonder if it could be made somehow more clear.

Does it mean that only that/those languages are allowed on the instance? Or does it mean that is the interface language for that server? Or that is the language the administrator speaks?

I have read a couple of rules days ago, and I don’t think I have seen them address the language question or whether non-English/French (I didn’t see others specified, with exception of one empty) are allowed or whether groups/events hosted on that server should do their best to also include a description in instance language (which could then be lied by having entirely different text in the ohter language).

I think with the goal of replacing Facebook groups and particularly events, if other languges are banned, that will hinder adoption in countries where English or French isn’t the major language as I think most of people aren’t going to setup their own instance and may not do it in general before getting a feeling on how Mobilizon works in general.

If this text looks familiar, it’s because I asked the same question on Matrix originally (as a horrible wall of text unsuitable for instant messengers) and heard that at least one other person had asked too, but I get the impression that there wasn’t much discussion there.

hi @Mikaela and thanks for your question!

I’m not part of the Mobilizon insiders and can’t answer your question, but I wanted to bring some feedback on a concern of yours:

The same concern was raised numerous times with Mastodon instances, and boils down to the impossibility of ensuring a fair and understanding moderation of an instance’s content when your users don’t speak a language you and your moderation team understand.

I think having tutorials and articles translated in as many languages would help adoption without sacrificing on moderation and safety of users. And feeling unsafe or spammed with content, even on a test instance, could spread a misrepresenting image of Mobilizon that would hinder adoption far more than just the lack of languages supported in production instances :slightly_smiling_face:

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