Hi, I'm lirenjie95

Community steward at p5.js

I help keep the community welcoming and well-organized.

I take care of i18n & DevOps

i18n = internationalization: making p5.js readable in many languages, especially Chinese.

Most of my work is reviewing Chinese translations — and most contributors aren't programmers.

35

PRs reviewed

11

PRs authored

15

commits

6

issues opened

Source: p5.js + p5.js-website · github.com/processing

02 / 23

What is p5.js?

A friendly JavaScript library for creative coding — draw, animate, and make things interactive in your browser.

It's the web sibling of Processing, built for artists, designers, and beginners — not just engineers.

Millions use it to learn code by making art.

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

03 / 23

Open source is bigger than code

A project needs many hands — most of them never write code.

Every button you've ever clicked in free software exists because someone contributed it.

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

04 / 23

WHY TRANSLATE?

Docs are a door.
Translation opens it.

Chinese readers can't learn what they can't read. Translating the docs lowers the door for millions of people.

circle(x, y, d) draws a circle

→

circle(x, y, d) 绘制一个圆形

You don't need to code

English majors, translation majors, designers — if you can read English and write natural Chinese, you already have the skill.

No algorithms. No build tools. No jargon. Just good writing.

Translation is the lowest door into open source — and it teaches you the workflow you'll use everywhere else.

“You are a future contributor — not an outsider.”

This talk treats you as the person who will make the next translation better.

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

06 / 23

Step 1 · Git in 60 seconds

Git is a time machine for your files — it remembers every saved version.

commit = save a snapshot
push = upload it to GitHub

Install it once, then these five commands are all you repeat.

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

08 / 23

Step 2 · GitHub is the shared workspace

Fork

copy to your account

→

Branch

your own draft copy

→

Commit

save a snapshot

→

Pull Request

ask to merge

A Pull Request (PR) is politely asking the project: “please merge my changes into the official version.”

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

09 / 23

Step 3 · Find an issue — or file your own

Find an issue

An issue is a tracked to-do item on the repo. The repo auto-creates 🌍 Update translations for X issues, labelled Help Wanted · needs translation · lang-zh-Hans. Comment to claim one — a maintainer assigns it to you.

File your own

Notice a missing page or a clunky phrase? Open an issue describing it, ask to be assigned — then turn it into a PR.

Either way → create a PR that links the issue → then ask for review

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

10 / 23

For real: from issue to PR

FIND AN ISSUE — on tracker #1150, I told SihongShen to go ahead

FILE YOUR OWN — I noticed missing pages in #783

I compiled every untranslated page into an issue, asked to be assigned, then shipped the fixes as a PR.

An issue is how work gets tracked — and how you get credit for spotting it.

Issue → get assigned → PR → merge.

Real GitHub issues · github.com

11 / 23

Step 4 · See your changes locally

Run the website on your own machine, so you can preview your translation before sharing it.

The exact steps are in the repo's README and contributing guide — always trust those first.

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

12 / 23

Step 5 · Submit → review → merge

Open PR

→

Reviewer comments

→

You fix

→

Approved

→

Merged ✓

You'll get kind, specific feedback — not a test. Let me show you three real ones.

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

13 / 23

Translation = writing good Chinese

What matters isn't your English — it's your Chinese.

Non-native translations often come out awkward. That's why we need native Chinese speakers — people like you.

“We prefer a native Chinese speaker — non-native translations often end up with awkward phrasing.”

— my reply on the v2 Teachers' Guide issue

先专业直译，拗口再意译

“把……想象成……会很有帮助”

把这个函数想象成饼干模具，会更容易理解

主动，别被动

这样每一棵树都可以被自定义

以便自定义每一棵树

用词自然，术语统一

“原旨” · sketch 又译“原稿”

“使命” · sketch 全篇统一“草图”

Real examples from my PR reviews · github.com

14 / 23

Case 1 · PR #715 — Donate page · by Darrenhqf

First-time contributor Darrenhqf translated one page.

I reviewed → suggested better wording (原旨 → 使命) → they fixed → merged.

Your first PR can be small — a single page is enough.

Real GitHub PR · github.com

15 / 23

Case 2 · PR #1568 · by GanLuy1223

GanLuy1223's v2 teacher's guide translation broke the build.

My review caught the CI failure and a wrong keyword (async should be await). Contributor fixed both, then approved & merged.

Review catches what you can't see working alone.

Real GitHub PR · github.com

16 / 23

Case 3 · PR #1302 · by Chiuye

Chiuye translated organizing-code-with-functions.

Review is about nuance — 直译与意译的取舍, consistent terms. 11 comments → polished → approved.

Good review makes the translation read naturally.

Real GitHub PR · github.com

17 / 23

luciawang0901 · 1/3 — she volunteered

luciawang0901 is an English-major student. She found my post on 小红书 and — with zero tech background — just raised her hand to translate “Setting Up Your Environment”.

That's how it starts: an issue where you say “I'd like to help” — not a line of code.

No code, no Git — just a willingness to help.

Real contributor journey · github.com

18 / 23

luciawang0901 · 2/3 — she translated & iterated

She translated the tutorial, learning Git & GitHub through three review rounds:

1ST ATTEMPT · PR #1433

2ND ATTEMPT · PR #1442

MERGED ✓ · PR #1462

Real contributor journey · github.com

19 / 23

luciawang0901 · 3/3 — she found a bug & was celebrated

THE BUG SHE SPOTTED · ISSUE #1446

While translating, she noticed the content stayed in English after switching language — and filed a real bug report.

MERGED & CELEBRATED · PR #1462

Reviewed by me (“LGTM”) — and the maintainers: “Amazing work… 辛苦了!”

From zero to real impact. Start with a translation — you never know where it leads. We encourage exactly this.

Real contributor journey · github.com

20 / 23

Our take on AI

We don't let AI write translations — quality needs human judgment.

But AI is a great helper — for setup, explanations, and unsticking yourself.

Every translation is human-reviewed. Want a review? Find me — lirenjie95.

ASKING WORKBUDDY

You

“I want to contribute to an open-source repo — help me set up my dev environment.”

WorkBuddy

Sure — I'll walk you through git clone → npm install → first PR.

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

21 / 23

Two ways · fix a failing clone / push

clone or push over HTTPS keeps failing?

You have two alternatives — both often just work behind firewalls and proxies:

git://github.com/... — the classic trick

git@github.com:... — SSH, the modern standard

Swap the URL, push again — your translation is on its way.

lirenjie95 · PCD 2026

22 / 23