Re: [Tails-dev] [PATCH] Change syslinux menu entries from "L…

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Author: anonym
Date:  
To: The Tails public development discussion list
Subject: Re: [Tails-dev] [PATCH] Change syslinux menu entries from "Live" to "Boot"
On 09/11/2015 06:28 PM, spencerone@??? wrote:
> Hi,
>
>>>
>>> Chris Lamb wrote:
>>>
>>>>         Tails
>>>>         Tails (failsafe)

>>>
>>> We really need a verb here as I explain in my original patch. Whilst it
>>> does remove the jargon this isn't much better than "Live" IMHO.
>>
>> anonym:
>> I agree with both points.
>>
>
> I don't. User interaction *is* the verb you are looking for :)
>
> For example, in an application list on any OS there isn't a 'Start
> Application X' instruction on every icon, but yet we are all confident
> that when we select any of these icons that the respective application
> will start (boot, to be more or less technical).


Sure, context matters. But verbs do appear frequently in the context you
talk about, e.g. in the right-click context menus for files there's
frequently "Open" or even "Open with gedit Text Editor" as in Tails
currently for a .txt file. I guess you could argue that such menus has a
much larger context, so a verb is necessary there.

> Maybe we need an icon.


I doubt that would make anything clearer, especially when Tails doesn't
have any icon strongly associated with it.

> Also, when in the Boot Menu, 'Live' is ambiguous and doesn't communicate
> the intended task, while 'Tails' clearly does communicate the intended
> task which (with the included Boot Menu label text as a second vector
> confirming that this is a menu and you should select an option). From
> my armchair, the action to take is hard-coded in the experience of
> knowing you are starting a computer, so all that is needed to move
> forward is an understanding of the options, not what action to take.


If this is an argument against "Start Tails" I do not get it. :/ "Live"
is, of course, a terrible option name. :)

>>> Did you have any specific objections to that? I'm not particularly
>>> bothered about which verb (eg. "Boot" vs "Start"), we just need one.
>>>
>>
>> Or what about verb + noun, i.e. "Start Tails" (and "Start Tails
>> (failsafe)")? Still succinct, to the point, no jargon => hard to cause
>> any confusion or ambiguity. The best of two worlds?
>>
>
> This is good, but conflicts with actually starting Tails, as 'Start
> Tails' is already in use on the Greeter.


In the current Greeter we actually use "Login", which OTOH may be
suboptimal in itself. It may be an artifact from its GDM heritage.

> However, Bootstrapping is the function here, so:
>
>                          Boot Menu

>
>         Boot Tails
>         Boot Tails (failsafe)


Sure, it makes sense for us, but "boot" is computer jargon. For people
unfamiliar with that word/concept, "start" makes more sense. And if you
don't know English at all, chances are still that you know the "start" word.

Perhaps you just used this example to derive your preferred choice, if
so, ignore this part-

> 'Boot' in the verb + noun structure becomes redundant. However, as an
> alternative, removing 'Boot' from the menu label makes 'Menu' an
> unnecessary label.
>
> Maybe we need a short descriptive sentence clarifying what action needs
> taken. In this case we would still have:
>
>                         Boot Menu

>
>         Tails
>         Tails (failsafe)

>
> But explain that when presented with options it is suggested that an
> option is selected and that by doing so they will be booting Tails. This
> sentence will need some TLC for sure if we include it.


While I see your point, I still believe that "Start Tails" is what users
will understand best without having to understand any context. Also,
we're discussing a menu that most users won't interact with (since it
auto-picks the default option after 5 seconds) and it really feels like
we're starting to split hairs here (OTOH, I'm not very used to UX
considerations, so perhaps it's just what it looks to me). As long as we
move from "Live" and do not pick anything with "boot" in it I'm in
favour, even though I prefer to include the "start" verb.

Cheers!