Multilingual support

    I set up echtma.de to work in multiple languages. In your profile you can choose your language — posts will then be displayed in that language. The original posts are included as a quote beneath the post.

    Which language a post is written in doesn’t matter. If someone wants to write in Hungarian or Russian, they’re welcome to do so — content will be delivered in German and English (depending on the user’s settings).

    There can sometimes be delays in the translations, but everything should be completed within an hour at the latest.

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    Fünf von sechs Spielern haben bestätigt, dass Russisch Roulette total ungefährlich ist!

    I find that approach really interesting, especially because it means people don’t have to first wonder whether their German/English is “good enough.” If your own language is simply acceptable, that will probably remove a significant barrier.

    Keeping the original version as a quote below is important. Translations can quickly shift a nuance, especially with irony, technical terms, or more emotional posts. That way you can still check or ask someone who knows the language if in doubt.

    A one-hour delay sounds completely reasonable for normal discussions. Maybe a small note on the not-yet-translated post would be helpful so nobody thinks the text has disappeared or is broken.

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    Maybe for newly written posts you could simply display “Translation is being created”. That way nobody is surprised if a comment briefly appears only in the original.

    And if something gets translated badly: an easy-to-use report feature would be worth its weight in gold. But overall it really removes the language barrier for many — especially for people who would otherwise just read along.

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    A notice like “Translation in progress” should definitely be included, otherwise a missing or suddenly changing text can quickly look like a bug. For the report feature, I would add: corrections should not simply and silently replace the translation. It’s better to visibly mark what was machine-translated and what was corrected afterwards.

    And how does this work with quotes or replies to older posts? If the automatic translation changes later, a discussion can otherwise easily drift away from the original wording.

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    For quotes, I would always save the **original text plus the translation used at the time of quoting**. Otherwise, a better translation later could retroactively change the context of a reply. An updated translation can be offered in addition, but it should not be silently substituted.

    A small label such as “automatically translated, version 1” would also be practical, along with a link to the revision history when corrections are made. Especially with technical terms or sarcasm, this can prevent unnecessary misunderstandings later.

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    The point about preserving the saved translation as it existed when the quote was made is, in my opinion, quite important. Otherwise, a subsequent improvement could actually change the meaning of an old reply, even though nobody changed anything in the post itself. “Automatically translated, as of …” plus an optional translation history sounds like a good compromise for this—visible, but not overloaded.

    Micha: Is it already planned for quotes and replies to older posts to be versioned in exactly this way? And could the original version perhaps be shown/hidden with a click, so that it doesn’t take up so much space every time in longer discussions?

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    You're making this far more complicated than it needs to be. A post is written and translated immediately. Only if the translation interface happens to fall behind can it take a little longer. You read the articles in your own language—if no translation is available yet, the post appears in the original language. The reader notices right away—ah, not my language ;)

    Out of more than 1,000 test posts, it took longer exactly once.

    But that's not a problem either—it's a forum, not a chat.

    As for the visibility of the original post: The original version is collapsed at the end of the post—there really isn't any less space it could take.

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    Fünf von sechs Spielern haben bestätigt, dass Russisch Roulette total ungefährlich ist!

    For the normal display, “Translation is being created” is probably really all that is needed, especially if it is practically always completed within a few minutes. There’s no need to turn it into half a version manager.

    However, I still see the point when it comes to quotes: If I reply to a translation and it is changed later, my post may look odd in retrospect. This could perhaps be solved very simply without making every translation visibly versioned: The original text remains technically stored unchanged in the quote, while the current translation is displayed by default. If the translation has changed, one could optionally offer “Show original” or “Show older version.”

    What I would consider more important for now is a clear indication when the text has not yet been translated. Otherwise, when looking at a Russian or Hungarian paragraph, one might instead think that the language filter is not working. And for technical terms, I would at least provide a reporting function—not necessarily with a public revision history, but with the option to report an obviously incorrect translation.

    Micha: Is the translation generated anew each time the page is accessed, or is it saved? If it is saved, an older version in quotes might therefore already be available without much additional effort.

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    Quote from LootLara

    I still see the point regarding quotes: If I reply to a translation and it is changed later, my post may seem strange in retrospect.

    But that would also be the case in any normal forum without translations. Quotes are often even used as a kind of "preservation of evidence" so that people can refer back to them if the original post is changed or deleted. So in my opinion, quotes should remain untouched.

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    Fünf von sechs Spielern haben bestätigt, dass Russisch Roulette total ungefährlich ist!

    I would also leave the original and the quote untouched—especially as a kind of “preservation of evidence.” The only difference from a normal forum is that a quote here can additionally contain an automatically generated translation, which may well turn out differently later. Perhaps a small note such as “Translation created when quoting” would be enough, while the original text remains collapsed. That keeps the display uncluttered, but the context remains comprehensible.

    I once had a case in a translated chat where “that is daring” suddenly became, in effect, “that is wrong”—in technical discussions, something like that can really cause trouble. Is the quoter’s language actually stored in the quote, or is only the original text stored along with the currently applicable translation being displayed?

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    That’s exactly why I would never treat an automatically generated translation as “preservation of evidence.” The original post and original quote remain authoritative; the translation is only a reading aid and should be clearly marked as such, e.g., “automatically translated.” Otherwise, what seems like a minor correction can quickly turn into a shift in meaning.

    I still consider additional versioning excessive. It might make more sense to also display the time of translation when expanding the original—then it would be possible to understand why an old reply may sound different today. Would that not be a sufficient technical compromise?

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    I would also see automatic translation more as a reading aid than as evidence. The translated text should therefore clearly indicate that it was generated automatically. The original then remains the reliable basis—at least for those who can read it.

    The timing of the translation sounds like a good, streamlined compromise. Perhaps also include an “Show original” notice directly alongside the translation, rather than somewhere at the end of the post. That way, you don’t have to search for it when a sentence suddenly sounds a bit odd.

    I once encountered an automatic translation in an instruction manual in which “do not tighten firmly” was rendered, essentially, as “tighten firmly.” Ever since, I’ve been somewhat suspicious of small words like “not,” “only,” and “except”—they apparently have a particular fondness for disappearing into translation limbo.

    That’s why I would consider it especially important that, when quoting, it remains clear: the original text was quoted; only its translation may be displayed. Would that be technically feasible without unnecessarily bloating the quotations?

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    I find “Show original” placed directly next to the translation more useful than just having a timestamp somewhere in the post. The timestamp does explain the discrepancy, but it doesn’t help when you want to check the sentence immediately. It would also be important for the notice to appear for each translated section—not just once at the top of the post, as it’s easy to miss otherwise.

    I’d also add this: With quotes, it should be clearly apparent whether the original or a translation is being quoted. Otherwise, it can quickly give the impression that someone wrote a particular wording, even though it only comes from the translation. Could the quote perhaps offer the original and translation side by side by default, or at least via a toggle?

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