OgMaciel
Og Maciel og (dot) maciel (at) gmail (dot) com blog: http://www.ogmaciel.com
Ubuntu Brazilian Portuguese Translators Member
"It was not long ago, during one of my recent rants about open source not always being open to non-contributors, that I first heard of Stephan Hermann. He had written something that really clicked with my way of thinking, and shortly after exchanging some emails/posts replies I was convinced that it was about time I got more involved with the community. I didn’t want to be one of those individuals who talk a lot but doesn’t do anything about it. It was thanks to Stephan that I finally joined the Ubuntu Brazilian (Portuguese) Translation Team in Launchpad and started translating documents and applications for the upcoming release of Ubuntu. Granted I couldn’t spent much time every day on it, neither could I hang out in #ubuntu for my company blocks all ports, I still managed to squeeze a few minutes here and there… and it was a great feeling knowing that my work will benefit hundreds of Portuguese speaking people to use Ubuntu in their native language! And every time I couldn’t work on it, I wished I had more free time to contribute more!"
Ever since I wrote the above post, my involvement with Ubuntu and the Linux Community has increased both in volume and intensity. I've spent more time lending a hand to my fellow Ubuntites at #ubuntu-br and our mailing list, trying my best to not only help them solve their issues but also spreading the word about the "Ubuntu way" of doing things. I also proposed the creation of a blog aggregator (planet) for Brazilian Ubuntu users/supporters, so that we could have a place to post helpfull information for new users. The idea was gladly accepted and within a few days, with the awsome effort of several Brazilian users the web site was launched. Every now and then I initiate "translation crusades" to get more people to help out with the translation process... and... and... I'm just glad to be able to help out my fellow Linux user!