Yepp, pure community translation won’t work. But I think that any .po maintainer is pretty bored by translating the same sentences again and again. That leads to slow progress I have my own .po patches waiting for review on g-b-o since months.
A single DB where a lot of suggestions are stored could really speed up things (and help ensure quality also, when the transifex step is done by pros)

*nod*

Thats the best approach because besides giving an early start, it effectively also allows corrections in the English strings (lots of them are spotted by the localizers) to go through fast. During string freeze, developers generally have to wait for permission from the localization group to make changes.
But yeah.. localizers also have to be mentally prepared to rework on bits because things change really fast.

You are right, a real pro is crucial.

Do not underestimate l10n.

Solution: Actually start translating as the software is developed, don’t wait for the string freeze! Then you have more time.

That implies: One should set up a String-translation database to which normal users could send single fragments just when they come to their attention, po files (and other stuff) should be filled with the content of that db and then be reviewed by a professional .po maintainer.

How about that?