Currently the string says "Account documentation" which was changed from "User documentation" with #32720.
These two however don't mean the same thing - one implies documentation about the account in use (or how to manage an account), the other documentation about how to use nextcloud - the latter of which is the intended meaning and what the link goes to (still called "user manual" when you follow the link btw.).
What it links to is a user manual, calling it something else than that is imprecise, and can feel clumsy. Either way "account documentation" is wrong and needs to be changed.
Alternatives are:
User manual - the preferred term, as its most correct in terms of what it links to and what words are used commonly. In languages where the direct translation would be gendered it is most often translated to usage manual
User documentation - the previous, "documentation" is more consistent with the other two links, but non programmers are more used to "manual"
Usage manual - correct but worse than the above two for English speakers, risk of other languages translating that directly rather than use the more natural and correct term for it, but works with e.g French (but the French would translate "user manual" to usage manual anyway)
I know you decided to replace "user" with "person" and "account", but here it does not work. There is no reason "user manual" couldn't coexist with the usage of person and account, not all have to be the same, it is much more important that the language is correct and means what it intends.
All terms above are gender neutral in English, and most languages that I know of. In those where it isn't, often usage manual is the common way of translating ~"user manual" anyway (like french, "Manuel d'utilisation").
Or with a larger refactor (of the link it leads to and the page with the link) it could be:
Help centre
Get started with nextcloud
How to use nextcloud
Or similar
Which are commonly used in other platforms (examples are taken from google), but remember cant just be changed now as it will feel clumsy without adapting the content.
It being wrong in English has affected(of the languages i think I understand and have the term translated):
("wrong" refers to the translation meaning "documentation about the account in use (or how to manage an account)")
-English variants (wrong)
-Danish (wrong)
-Slovak (wrong and "account" is somewhat gendered)
-Czech (wrong and "account" is somewhat gendered)
-Swedish (was correct, became wrong, is fixed)
-French (became gendered, probably wasn't before as the translator probably got confused with what was meant since "Manuel d'utilisation" (non-gendered) is what one would translate "user manual" to..)
In all of these "User manual" or the most common way of saying the same thing is gender neutral.
In other words the change from "user" to "account" here has caused:
Incorrect language, non-natural sounding language, gendered non-inclusive language, headaches (not literally) for translators.
My suggested fix:
Rename the string to "user manual". It is non-gendered, correct and natural. Most translators know how to translate this, and in most languages it is gender-neutral. In languages where the direct translation is gendered; that's up for those translators adapt, which will be easier as they now would know what is meant (and most languages have a way of saying ~"user manual" without any gender).
If you still consider "user" a problem in this context, it can later be refactored as mentioned.
Sorry for mixing literal translations with translations of meaning, dunno how to indicate which i refer to without being overly verbose.
Also sorry for a long issue for a small fix, but I felt like I needed to motivate what I believe creates the highest quality, inclusive language.
Remember, context is already hard to find for many strings in transifex.
susnux
commented
3 weeks ago
Currently the string says "Account documentation" which was changed from "User documentation" with #32720.
These two however don't mean the same thing - one implies documentation about the account in use (or how to manage an account), the other documentation about how to use nextcloud - the latter of which is the intended meaning and what the link goes to (still called "user manual" when you follow the link btw.).
What it links to is a user manual, calling it something else than that is imprecise, and can feel clumsy. Either way "account documentation" is wrong and needs to be changed.
Alternatives are:
I know you decided to replace "user" with "person" and "account", but here it does not work. There is no reason "user manual" couldn't coexist with the usage of person and account, not all have to be the same, it is much more important that the language is correct and means what it intends.
All terms above are gender neutral in English, and most languages that I know of. In those where it isn't, often usage manual is the common way of translating ~"user manual" anyway (like french, "Manuel d'utilisation").
Or with a larger refactor (of the link it leads to and the page with the link) it could be:
Which are commonly used in other platforms (examples are taken from google), but remember cant just be changed now as it will feel clumsy without adapting the content.
Occurrences: /app/apps/settings/templates/help.php:19, /app/apps/settings/templates/help.php:68
It being wrong in English has affected (of the languages i think I understand and have the term translated): ("wrong" refers to the translation meaning "documentation about the account in use (or how to manage an account)")
-English variants (wrong) -Danish (wrong) -Slovak (wrong and "account" is somewhat gendered) -Czech (wrong and "account" is somewhat gendered) -Swedish (was correct, became wrong, is fixed) -French (became gendered, probably wasn't before as the translator probably got confused with what was meant since "Manuel d'utilisation" (non-gendered) is what one would translate "user manual" to..)
(from looking here)
In all of these "User manual" or the most common way of saying the same thing is gender neutral.
In other words the change from "user" to "account" here has caused: Incorrect language, non-natural sounding language, gendered non-inclusive language, headaches (not literally) for translators.
My suggested fix:
Rename the string to "user manual". It is non-gendered, correct and natural. Most translators know how to translate this, and in most languages it is gender-neutral. In languages where the direct translation is gendered; that's up for those translators adapt, which will be easier as they now would know what is meant (and most languages have a way of saying ~"user manual" without any gender).
If you still consider "user" a problem in this context, it can later be refactored as mentioned.
Sorry for mixing literal translations with translations of meaning, dunno how to indicate which i refer to without being overly verbose. Also sorry for a long issue for a small fix, but I felt like I needed to motivate what I believe creates the highest quality, inclusive language.
Remember, context is already hard to find for many strings in transifex.