Do You Allow Your Members to Speak Foreign Languages?

Often, many people are English-speaking. However, there are some that may speak second or third languages that aren't native to some. Do you allow these people that speak multiple langauges to use these languages on your forum? Why or why not?

I don't allow my members to speak languages besides English. I do this because I consider it spam which is against my rules. It's spam to me because it's a pointless message to some. I also don't allow members to use these languages because they may be breaking a rule in disguise.

 

I dont allow it either, AdminBB is an all english speaking forum. Some people's first language may not be english, and I dont have a problem with that. Just that English is the most globally recognized language as most people know it and thats why AdminBB is english only. If we allowed people to speak their own language it would just create havoc..

 

I think it's a good idea to keep your forum in one language unless the forum is for an international product. Personally, it's all English on my forum.

If you have the staff to manage it all, then maybe multiple languages are for you.

 

No, because I can not understand what they say. And neither can most of the people on my forum. The only thing it does is degrade the quality of your forum.

 

English only, as I would'nt have a clue what they are saying, and it's most likely going to be spam as I only run English speaking forums, and most of the world knows how to write something in English or use Google Translate...

 

Yea thats my reason too. Google Translate is a great tool by the way.

 

Stuff from Google Transalate looks really weird when they use it unfortunately Real bad grammar and use of words.

 

Yes I know, but its still better than nothing, and sometimes its your only option.

 

Problem is they use that more than they use their native language I've found, and members still can't understand them. It's a real pain.

 

All members has to follow the language which the forum is generally using. Of course, if there is a need, you can have an international section where members are free to use the language they are associated with.

 

Such sections are notoriously hard to manage however. First, you have to have the dedicated staff to manage it, and then you have to make sure to support multiple languages on your site, which can be a hassle if you have a lot of stuff. In the end, sections like that from what I've seen usually end up being a mess.

 

Having those sections can help depending on your top traffic countries, but as you have mentioned yes they do end up messy. Its best to have someone apart of your staff who is bilingual to moderate one of the international language sections of which they speak.

 

Yeah, it's very important to analyze your traffic before you make something like that. Just popping down a multilingual section one day is not a good idea.

 

Yea it sure isn't I mostly see hosts having sections like that on their support forums.

 

Yeah that's only place I've seen those forums to be honest. And often there's only a few other language sections while the English ones take up the whole board.
Maybe it's to save space, but I think a good tab set up on the index would help with that

 

Alright lets get back on topic, I forgot how off-topic we got. Back on topic:

 

I like one language on my forum. If everybody can't take part in the discussion then I consider it off-topic or spam. If you want to speak to an individual in another language then via PM is the best option for you. That's how I look at it at least.

 

Yea I agree, if you happen to find someone who speaks the same language as you, can have a friendly PM chat with them, shouldnt be public as it will be spam because others wont understand.