Petar Toushkov (@cellfourteen.social.petertoushkov.eu.ap.brid.gy)

Localizer spotlight: Bogo **About you** My name is Bogomil but people call me Bogo, and I am a translator for the Bulgarian locale. I think I got involved with the Mozilla project back in 2005 when I wrote a small search add-on/script. I became more active around 2008-2009 and with just a few gaps until this day. I am European. I was born in Bulgaria, but I have been living for a long time in the Czech Republic. Bulgarian is my main language, but sometimes I contribute to localization projects in Turkish, Romanian, Macedonian and Czech. **Q &A** _**Q:** What inspired you to join the Mozilla localization community?_ **A:** As I mentioned here I decided to start localizing software because I knew some people had trouble using it in other languages. I believe everyone deserves the right to use software in a language they understand which helps them to get the maximum value out of it. As for Mozilla in particular I believe in the mission and this is the most efficient way for me to contribute. _**Q:** How do you solve challenges like bugs or workflow hiccups, especially when collaborating virtually?_ **A:** Since we are a small team for the Bulgarian localizations we are almost always in sync on how to translate the strings. We are following some basic rules, such as using a common dictionary and instructions on how to localize software in Bulgarian (shared across multiple FOSS projects), set 15+ years ago and that are still relevant. When we have a conflict, I usually count on the team managers to share their wisdom, because they have a bit more knowledge than the rest of us. _**Q:** Which projects or new product features were you most excited about this year, and why?_ **A:** In the last year I contributed mainly to the Thunderbird project. The items that are most exciting to me are: * That finally we decided to remove the word “Junk” and replace it with “Spam”, I think this is self-explanatory 🙂 * The new Account Hub which improves significantly the consumer’s experience and their onboarding into the beautiful world of the free email. Free as in Freedom. * I am also excited about all the things in the roadmap to come. _**Q:** What tips, tools, or habits help you succeed as a localizer?_ **A:** If you look at my Pontoon profile, you will see that for the last 2 months I contributed every day. I find this habit very useful for me, because it keeps me focused on my goal for consistently improving the localized experience. Another item is that I like to provide a better experience to the mobile users. I often test and fix labels in Thunderbird for Android which, even translated correctly, are too long for a mobile phone UI. And lastly, I love to engage with the community and ask them for help when we finish a section or a product. Last year we asked the Bulgarian community to help us validate a localization available in the beta version and we got some very helpful feedback. **Something fun** _**Q:** Could you share a few fun or unexpected facts about yourself that people might not know?_ * I ran for the European Parliament in 2009 with the intention to fight for our digital rights. * I was on almost every media in the world in 2012 when I bought the data of millions of users for $5! This is the Forbes article. * I am a heavy metal fan and you can find me in underground clubs, enjoying bands you have never heard of. * Apart from technology I am an artist – I produced and performed my own theater play and shot a movie in Prague. * I realized my dream to have an opening talk at FOSDEM. I was opening the Sunday session… but still! https://blog.mozilla.org/l10n/2025/10/24/localizer-spotlight-bogo/