Josh On Design

My JavaOne week has actually started two days early on Saturday. Why? Because I'm a co-community lead for Java.net's Mac community. What's that? You didn't know that there's a Java.net Mac community? Hmm. That's a problem. Well, that's why we have the Java.net community leaders weekend event two days before JavaOne. It's our time to get together face to face, discuss the issues we face, figure out how to solve them, and then make Java.net a better place for all of you.

I'm learning incredible things here. The most interesting thing is that, even though we all run different communities and face different issues, is that the number one barrier to entry for new java.net developers is the language. It struck me as odd at first, but now I realize it makes perfect sense. As Kathy said, Java has grown 50% in two years. A lot of that growth is coming from overseas. That means many of the newest Java developers, the ones most in need of documentation, tutorials, mailing lists, etc.; are the ones least likely to be native speakers of English! This struck me as odd, yet should have been blindingly obvious. So what should we do about it? I don't know, but that's why we are getting together. There are a lot of issues we face, both technical and social, but the growth potential is huge so it's something we simply must address.

What ideas do you have for how to make Java.net and it's projects more accessible to non-native English speakers?

- Josh