Don't know about maemo trademark etc. so while I'm not ignoring the question, I'm not answering it either. Silence in this case for me is not so much ominous as sensible.

To get back to the topic in hand:

My concerns spring from nothing close to xenophobia (xenophobic immigrants tend to not be happy, and I'm quite happy...) but from a rather long time observing real life and how people integrate around language.

It's human nature for people to hang out with like minded others (and this is borne out by my observations, which admittedly are a sample size of not very many, and from those of others, which are a slightly larger sample size), Which is why we're here.

Language is a powerful expression of culture, and a strong pull for those who speak it to gravitate towards. I think that the sub-fora in different languages could become 'mini maemo.orgs' in specific languages with no or little crossover, the result of which diminishes us all.

However, there are positive reasons for language support. Lack of xenophobia is not one of them, neither is a need to prove we're not xenophobic, but valid others exist.

How do we manage the integration?

Yes, careful moderation would be key. And the moderator would also have to be responsible for ensuring integration of topics, with the English subforum as central anchor.

Here's an example:

The German subforum has a discussion about the N920's new hybrid screen that has some interesting, valid, technical details in it. Meanwhile, the English subforum has a similar discussion ongoing. benny1967 follows both, sees a post in the German that is relevant, and links it, with or without translation, but usefully with a context (for example: posted as useful by German subforum moderator, use Google to translate...). Works both ways of course.

Yes, we'd miss some things. Yes, it's work for the moderators. Remember, nothing worthwhile is free.

Sorry if this is longwinded. I'm trying to get my head around:
1. inclusivity and acceptability
2. information flow

Why is the English subforum the anchor? Because, with the best will in the world, English is the main language of the internet at present. It's also likely the most spoken language in the world if one takes into account second languages.

We could try Mandarin as the anchor, but... I'm not sure it would be as inclusive as English...