Contributor Interview: Kazunari Hirano
Last week Reiko Saito and I
had a conversation with the first Japanese contributor to the
OpenSolaris Internationalization
and Localization Community Group -- Kazunari Hirano. Hirano-san
is an active contributor to the OpenOffice.org community, and he
started contributing recently to the OpenSolaris project with Japanese
translations of the OpenSolaris
Development Process and Participating to
OpenSolaris -- two very important documents to help build community
in Japan.
The phone conversation was an enjoyable experience since it was in English and Japanese. Below is my interpretation of the English parts of the conversation. For the Japanese interpretation, see Saito-san's blog. Please note that Saito-san's blog about the interview is not a Japanese translation of my English text. Instead, it's her interpretation of the interview and her original writing based on what she heard in English and Japanese and what she asked in English and Japanese. I'm mindful that when communicating across languages and cultures there are many times when concepts simply can't be directly "translated" from one language to another, so it's best to write that information in the context of the original language. So, as a result, we are trying a little experiment here. For those of you who are bilingual, you can read the English and Japanese versions and notice the differences in perspective. I'll bet there are many. Also, Saito-san and I didn't compare notes afterwards, but Hirano-san did review both texts separately for accuracy.
How and why did you get involved in OpenSolaris?
I am the Deputy Community Contributor Representative on the OpenOffice.org project. I heard about OpenSolaris and was interested in the new project and the new license. I blogged about the project, registered on the site, and wanted to learn about the community. Also, I was a member of the Nihon Sun Users Group, so I met many Solaris experts in Japan and they told me a lot about the significance of Solaris. I heard about OpenSolaris elsewhere as well. I met Young Joo Song (now Pintaske) and Tim Foster at the 2004 OOoCon in Berlin. Young was the co-lead of OpenOffice.org Localization Project, and Tim was the Open Language Tool (OLT) developer. We worked together on OpenOffice.org localization efforts, and after OpenSolaris started we occasionally talked on the OpenSolaris mailing lists.
How was the process of contributing to OpenSolaris? Hard? Easy?
Easy for me because I have experience with contributing and with the Sun Contributor Agreement. And because Sun's G11N angels helped me a lot. That's important. People have to help each other in the community. And community members need education about how to contribute.
What can we do to improve our processes for contributors?
I have little idea how to improve the specific process because it was easy for me. But it may difficult for many contributors and potential contributors, so we need their feedback. We have to listen to them. And we should continuously and repeatedly expose to them to the following:
What did you enjoy the most/least during the interaction?
Generally, communication such as comments like, "Thank you," and encouragement from other contributors and developers on the mailing lists and from Sun's G11N angels. Also, I enjoyed seeing my contribution published on the Web.
What are your opinions about OpenSolaris before/after the interaction?
My opinion has not changed. The same opinion: OpenSolaris the product and the community is still very new and developing. It will take time to grow.
Do you now feel a part of the product and community?
Yes, I do.
Will you be contributing in the future?
Yes, I will.
What is the best way to build community in Japan?
If we listen to community members and we get their feedback, then we -- together -- will find a way. Leadership and education are issues and so is culture. You need leaders to get out in the community and talk to people all the time and educate them about what to do on OpenSolaris and how to contribute. Leaders have to be strong and motivated and inspirational. It's difficult to get community contributions from mailing lists alone. However, a strong leader can get out in the community and look people in their eyes and establish trust. This is important. Then mailing list activity can be used to support the face to face meetings. All of this takes a long time, though. That's why you need people who are motivated. Also, you need to focus on universities. Appeal to the young generation with programs like the Google Summer of Code.
Do you see language barriers preventing involvement in OpenSolaris?
Yes, I do. English is a barrier. At the same time, however, English is a facilitator. Community is all about communication. Communication is all about motivation. Our motivation is for the public good, to create and provide the best operating system. If you have true motivation, you will study English or ask someone for a translation and try to communicate. Translation helps lower the barrier. Also, meeting face to face is important to lowering the barriers.
I notice you blog in English. Why?
To communicate with the rest of the world! There are many things going on in Japan, but sometimes we need to communicate in English so we can talk to the whole world. Also, I want to talk to Chinese and Korean developers because we have common issues when developing software. I lead the CJK Group for OpenOffice where Chinese, Japanese, and Korean developers talk about common issues such as using grids, vertical writing, displaying CJK characters correctly, and more. That took a long time to develop, though, and we have to use English to communicate with each other. I hope we can dothat for OpenSolaris as well.
Finally
Finally, Hirano-san asked me and Reiko what our motivation was for participating in OpenSolaris. Here's my response: Freedom. Freedom to express myself. Freedom to grow. Freedom from being locked in to a single boss or a single company. Freedom to embrace any opportunity I think I can handle and any opportunity anyone offers. That's the value of contributing to a community for me. Contributing to a community is pure opportunity. When I asked Hirano-san what his motivation was, he responded, "World peace. I believe the good OpenSolaris software helps people and makes them happy."
The phone conversation was an enjoyable experience since it was in English and Japanese. Below is my interpretation of the English parts of the conversation. For the Japanese interpretation, see Saito-san's blog. Please note that Saito-san's blog about the interview is not a Japanese translation of my English text. Instead, it's her interpretation of the interview and her original writing based on what she heard in English and Japanese and what she asked in English and Japanese. I'm mindful that when communicating across languages and cultures there are many times when concepts simply can't be directly "translated" from one language to another, so it's best to write that information in the context of the original language. So, as a result, we are trying a little experiment here. For those of you who are bilingual, you can read the English and Japanese versions and notice the differences in perspective. I'll bet there are many. Also, Saito-san and I didn't compare notes afterwards, but Hirano-san did review both texts separately for accuracy.
How and why did you get involved in OpenSolaris?
I am the Deputy Community Contributor Representative on the OpenOffice.org project. I heard about OpenSolaris and was interested in the new project and the new license. I blogged about the project, registered on the site, and wanted to learn about the community. Also, I was a member of the Nihon Sun Users Group, so I met many Solaris experts in Japan and they told me a lot about the significance of Solaris. I heard about OpenSolaris elsewhere as well. I met Young Joo Song (now Pintaske) and Tim Foster at the 2004 OOoCon in Berlin. Young was the co-lead of OpenOffice.org Localization Project, and Tim was the Open Language Tool (OLT) developer. We worked together on OpenOffice.org localization efforts, and after OpenSolaris started we occasionally talked on the OpenSolaris mailing lists.
How was the process of contributing to OpenSolaris? Hard? Easy?
Easy for me because I have experience with contributing and with the Sun Contributor Agreement. And because Sun's G11N angels helped me a lot. That's important. People have to help each other in the community. And community members need education about how to contribute.
What can we do to improve our processes for contributors?
I have little idea how to improve the specific process because it was easy for me. But it may difficult for many contributors and potential contributors, so we need their feedback. We have to listen to them. And we should continuously and repeatedly expose to them to the following:
- What they can do
- How they can do it
- How we can help them
What did you enjoy the most/least during the interaction?
Generally, communication such as comments like, "Thank you," and encouragement from other contributors and developers on the mailing lists and from Sun's G11N angels. Also, I enjoyed seeing my contribution published on the Web.
What are your opinions about OpenSolaris before/after the interaction?
My opinion has not changed. The same opinion: OpenSolaris the product and the community is still very new and developing. It will take time to grow.
Do you now feel a part of the product and community?
Yes, I do.
Will you be contributing in the future?
Yes, I will.
What is the best way to build community in Japan?
If we listen to community members and we get their feedback, then we -- together -- will find a way. Leadership and education are issues and so is culture. You need leaders to get out in the community and talk to people all the time and educate them about what to do on OpenSolaris and how to contribute. Leaders have to be strong and motivated and inspirational. It's difficult to get community contributions from mailing lists alone. However, a strong leader can get out in the community and look people in their eyes and establish trust. This is important. Then mailing list activity can be used to support the face to face meetings. All of this takes a long time, though. That's why you need people who are motivated. Also, you need to focus on universities. Appeal to the young generation with programs like the Google Summer of Code.
Do you see language barriers preventing involvement in OpenSolaris?
Yes, I do. English is a barrier. At the same time, however, English is a facilitator. Community is all about communication. Communication is all about motivation. Our motivation is for the public good, to create and provide the best operating system. If you have true motivation, you will study English or ask someone for a translation and try to communicate. Translation helps lower the barrier. Also, meeting face to face is important to lowering the barriers.
I notice you blog in English. Why?
To communicate with the rest of the world! There are many things going on in Japan, but sometimes we need to communicate in English so we can talk to the whole world. Also, I want to talk to Chinese and Korean developers because we have common issues when developing software. I lead the CJK Group for OpenOffice where Chinese, Japanese, and Korean developers talk about common issues such as using grids, vertical writing, displaying CJK characters correctly, and more. That took a long time to develop, though, and we have to use English to communicate with each other. I hope we can dothat for OpenSolaris as well.
Finally
Finally, Hirano-san asked me and Reiko what our motivation was for participating in OpenSolaris. Here's my response: Freedom. Freedom to express myself. Freedom to grow. Freedom from being locked in to a single boss or a single company. Freedom to embrace any opportunity I think I can handle and any opportunity anyone offers. That's the value of contributing to a community for me. Contributing to a community is pure opportunity. When I asked Hirano-san what his motivation was, he responded, "World peace. I believe the good OpenSolaris software helps people and makes them happy."
