I can't imagine TB doing that -- as, IMHO, it would be far out of our authority. It would require entirely new FTs to be set up, which means spending a lot of money which does not belong to TB.

If Randy were to come to us, saying that he is considering it, and asking our opinion that would be a differente matter completely.

In fact, I see nothing that TB could even theoretically do as far as foreign languages are concerned other than to prohibit posting in them -- and I would oppose that idea.

(There is no need for TB action to allow such posting as it is already permitted.)

I have come across some exceptions to that here on FT ...... including in terms of others identifying and knowing the foreign language and reporting a TOS violation as a TOS violation; in terms of others translating the foreign language without local vernacular/colloquial reference in mind necessary to recognize a TOS violation when others recognize that it is a TOS violation.

It is with advance expression of regret that I must note that I'm not going to entertain any follow-up requests on this post of mine.

A ban on foreign languages isn't practical on here.

Is using a few French words or phrases to be prohibited, and how many words is fine and how many is too much? Is supplying a list of cuts of meat in Spanish to be prohibited, or is it just allowed when there's a side-by-side translation? Is part of an article or promotion that came in a foreign language prohibited from being posted in part or in whole unless accompanied by a translation, and how accurate does that translation have to be? Is insulting someone in Nooristani ok since the phrase translated into English by most non-locals sounds ok when it's really an insult in the original? What about prohibiting a nice phrase in English that is translated into Nooristani but is actually an insult in Nooristani? Are only languages that use Roman alphabets allowed? And so it goes.

I like that the general medium of communication is English here, but that can be encouraged by the FT community without some kind of mandated language or prohibition on other languages.

For most situations, I trust that if something is posted in a foreign language that another FTer doesn't understand, someone will usually step up to the plate to help out the FTer who doesn't know the langauge. Things will tend to gravitate back to English here without a hard line in the sand being drawn and enforced. And most people contributing here recognize that it's helpful to more members today to post in English.

Oui, c'est vrai.

"Zut alors!" I picked that up from an English-language comic strip ages ago. Banned or not banned?

Perhaps we should consider all those transliterations of Arabic words in OMNI and demand that only their accurate English equivalent translation be allowed rather than some untranslated-into-English word(s) (even if understood/recognized in English). That would take away half the fun for some people. So banned or not banned?

Stop it with the ad hominem attacks!!

"Zut!" You're using Latin. Is it ok if I translate it into English? A literal translation sufficient, or a translation that keeps in mind the contextual use of the phrase? And there I go with the French again.

If enough interest in any language forums comes up, then decide to start separate forum in that language.

..... and for now let things continue as is (including accepting the use of foreign languages in the forums where it's not disruptive)?

Flickr seems to work very well in a multitude of languages,
often on the same thread^!

I suggest to leave things as they are, and leave some discretion to the moderators.

I find it very useful that people are able to cut and paste information in a language different to English, especially if that language is well understood by most contributors of the forum. If that was not allowed, some useful information would not be provided anymore at all. The same goes for the occasional remark.

However, I fully support the decision of the moderator in the thread linked. The remark was in Serbo-Croatian (I believe), a language of which one could not presume that it would be understood by many regular M&M forum contributors; and an unacceptable remark might therefore not be recognised quickly. As the remark was in context of a complaint against an airline, it was conceivable that the remark was something that would not be tolerated in a language well understood by the moderators and regular contributors.

Whilst I do not favour a specific policy, I personally do not like entire posts that are not in English, as there is no reason to do so.

SmilingBoy.

Yeah, but that happens with English too.

I think that the post should be in English, in general, as that is a predominant international language. However, I don't see an issue if specific national carrier boards have conversations in the local language (i.e. AF board having conversations in French, etc) - however, since one of the purposes of FT is to share knowledge, if an english speaker is searching for something on AF & the subject matter is in written in french, then it may not be beneficial to all members. Same could be said for the opposite, but I do believe that the majority of people who got through the process of signing up to post on FlyerTalk must be able to speak & read basic english...

Regarding TOS violations in other languages - when I used to be a moderator, I had to take action against a poster who was harassing another member in japanese - luckily the Alta Vista Babelfish translator is free - so I could translate it & take the appropriate action...

I didn't know about any language TOS rule. Sure glad I didn't get suspended for this thread. (my posts starting at milepost 14, but it began earlier with some very interesting info at milepost 10). It was a very useful thread, and I think the use of Italian enhanced it, even for those who don't know the language.

Perhaps that's because there is no rule against posting in a language other than English.