586374 - [ak] Search engine setup for Firefox for Akan.

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Mozilla Localizations :: ak / Akan, defect)

Description

[Axel Hecht [:Pike]]

We want to ship Firefox 4.0 a good list of search engines for Akan. 

We're going to work towards this in three phases. First, the localization team and Stas (Stas Malolepszy) will look at the market for the language and come up with a good set of search providers. Kasahorow, we'll need your input on this, the guidelines for making recommendations are on <https://wiki.mozilla.org/L10n:Firefox/Productization>. 

For en-US, we currently use this set, to which we can fall back in the case of lacking localized alternatives:
Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Answers, CC, eBay, Wikipedia

After we decided on a particular search engine, Stas will contact the owner and ask for permission, and for specifics like proper search flags. Kasahorow, we'll likely need your help to at least get the contact information.

Once we have a specification on what the searchengines for Akan should look like, the localization team and Stas will work on an implementation on that. This should happen by the localization team creating and attaching patches for the desired changes, and requesting review from Stas. After a successful review, the localization team will land them.

Please don't commit any modifications in browser/searchplugins to the hg repository without a patch reviewed by Stas, Axel or someone else appointed by Stas or SethB. The data here is sensitive to users and our search partners, thus the extra care here.

Comment 1

[kasahorow]

I propose we use this set:
Live Bookmark: Google news specific to Ghana http://news.google.com.gh
Global Search: Google
e-Commerce Search: Amazon
Specific Interest: Wikipedia http://ak.wikipedia.org

And Yahoo! and Facebook are hugely popular websites in Ghana. We need to find a way to include them in the the Akan build by some means. Perhaps, we can translate the Facebook toolbar add-on and build it into the product (if this is allowed)? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3794/

Comment 2

[Seth Bindernagel]

(In reply to comment #1)
> I propose we use this set:
> Live Bookmark: Google news specific to Ghana http://news.google.com.gh
> Global Search: Google
> e-Commerce Search: Amazon
> Specific Interest: Wikipedia http://ak.wikipedia.org

We'e like to see 2 in each category.  Here are some guidelines to follow:

https://wiki.mozilla.org/L10n:Firefox/Productization


> And Yahoo! and Facebook are hugely popular websites in Ghana. We need to find a
> way to include them in the the Akan build by some means. Perhaps, we can
> translate the Facebook toolbar add-on and build it into the product (if this is
> allowed)? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3794/

Not possible to do any product customization as you suggest, but we can add Yahoo as the 2nd general search option.  

We do not like to include Facebook as part of the default search set because Facebook requires a login to access its site.  That seems to prevent a user who may not want to submit that information from using their service.  I think users who are fixated on Facebook will, with the "Awesome Bar" in Firefox (smart URL bar), are just one keystroke away from the site popping up.  Understand what I am saying?

Comment 3

[Milos Dinic [:Milos]]

Hey kasahorow,

I've just started looking over Akan bugs, and wanted to ask you if we can revise this search engines list you and Seth were talking about?

Also, it's been almost a year and a half since last iteration in this bug, so probably Akan market has grown since, hence revising the list.

Comment 4

[Milos Dinic [:Milos]]

Dwayne, kasahorow,

as per our 1 on 1 chat, do we want to go with en-US defaults?

Comment 5

[Milos Dinic [:Milos]]

Ping here once more. Kasahorow, Dwayne, feedback wrt comment 4?

Comment 6

[kasahorow]

Yes Milos,

I am unsure what 1 on 1 chat you had with Dwayne, but if it helps to close this bug, please go with en-US defaults.

Comment 7

[Axel Hecht [:Pike]]

Sorry, but the choices should be right for users, not for the sake of getting a bug closed.

It may very well be that we don't have many options, though.

The obvious one would be wikipedia, but that has only 170+ articles. Then there'd be a question on whether English or French would be a better alternative, and that's hard to tell from here. Akan seems to be spoken in Ghana and Ivory Coast, first being English, the latter French.

That'd be good to get a comment from the ground on.

Comment 8

[Axel Hecht [:Pike]]

We have paused the effort to launch Desktop Firefox in Akan.

If we resume the effort, we should get new bugs on file.