Updating the English user guide only (this is the only one I feel confident in), which I think means viewing it as the “default” guide/language, may deprive us of a lot of the contribution of exclusive writers in other languages, many of whom may be energetic and dedicated in producing the detailed, accurate content that is so important to the experience of the users. For instance, @Rachel is most comfortable in French, and in fact has said she is not comfortable updating the English guide, at least in its final version.
I think the main thing that’s keeping writers in all languages from contributing equally is the right process for synchronization - if @Rachel (for instance, merci Rachel for letting me use you as an example) comes up with a brilliant explanation in the French user guide, the existence of that content should be known and available for integration to all other guides right away, and it should be easy to tell when things aren’t synchronized between and among any (n) languages. I guess Gitbook doesn’t do this.
The problem with using Trello and Slack for tracking is that they are busy, noisy environments (that can, however, have notification built in, which could add to more noise or be useful). What if we set up a simple excel-like Airtable to note changes to sections (rows) across languages (columns)? Easy to see (like in Transifex) when there is an untranslated section in a given language, and easy to compare (for polyglots and for the purposes of initial machine translation) to see how different instances interpret the explanation for a section. Airtable would also allow for easy storage and tracking of assets like screenshots which can be a pain to recreate.
Here’s a scenario: Rachel makes a change or addition to the French guide, noting the section, function, and a link to the improvement in the table. I go in with the aim of making my own update, and a quick glance shows that there is something new about a feature or function, and Rachel has made a change I need to look at and integrate. Even though my French is comme de la merde, I can go to the French guide section she links to, do at least a quick Google Translate, use my native English speaker skills to smooth it out a bit, ask Rachel or anyone else who has facility in both languages and OFN for a sanity check, and publish. @Anna can do the same thing, and if I don’t get around to updating the English guide before she has time, she is still able to work on having the most current possible guide in Catalan.
As I see/experience it, the main drivers for user guide updates are (1) code/UX changes and (2) questions from users. In the first case, it seems straightforward enough to integrate the update (or answer the question “if a user/admin guide update is required as a result of this change, has it been completed?” in the affirmative in order for a feature or fix to go live). The one where we are responding to a user question is harder, since (I am thinking especially of you @tschumilas) the user support/response job is a related, but very different task from updating documentation - one usually has to be done more urgently and is narrow in scope as a specific question is answered, and the other requires more careful, comprehensive explanation that may involve multiple cases or applications. I don’t think it’s realistic to expect that someone in support/training/explanation mode will naturally switch gears into documentation mode and update the guide in their language(s) on any consistent basis. So what if @tschumilas could take a minute to note in the Airtable a feature, function, or explanation that needed to be updated, and she or someone else could pick that up and add it to the guide in their own most comfortable language, thus moving the process ahead as described above?
All this is to say: I think that for a while at least, it would be helpful to have a guide team with representatives from every language, who tunes and maintains an agreed-on process, and meets on some regular basis to talk through issues, get assistance, and offer appreciation and gratitude to skilled/prolific guide updaters.