Re: [Tails-project] #8948: Reconsider the terminology around…

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Author: Cody Brownstein
Date:  
To: tails-project
Subject: Re: [Tails-project] #8948: Reconsider the terminology around "persistence"
Hi,

sajolida:
> sajolida:
>> sajolida:
>>> moire:
>>>
>>> I also considered dropping the article sometimes to simplify things and
>>> I think that it's definitely worth exploring. I'm very curious to hear
>>> Cody's opinion about it and we'll discuss it during our next meeting.
>>> We really need a native speaker to get these details right I think.
>>
>> We had our team meeting with Cody today. Before that, he also discussed
>> and tested some sentences with people who didn't know Tails :)
>>
>> It seems like we agree on the general idea ("Persistence") but we still
>> have to fine-tune some examples. His position on articles and using
>> "Persistence" only all the time is in between moire's and mine.
>>
>> We'll continue working on this on
>> https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/documentation/style_guide/persistence/
>> and #8948 until we reached a conclusion. In the meantime, feel free to
>> continue commenting here as well.
>
> Cody reviewed these examples and I pushed his proposal to the website:
>
> https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/documentation/style_guide/persistence/
>
> The examples are his but the "Guidelines" are what I could induce from
> the examples.
>
> If I got Cody's idea right, we're somehow trying to use "Persistence" as
> people otherwise use "DropBox" or "Nextcloud". Sometimes as some kind of
> proper noun or tool name, some other times with an article, especially
> when saying "your Persistence", and more like an object.
>
> I like it and I also like the fact that we can always readjust our usage
> of the different articles over time if needed. It won't be as
> complicated or possibly confusing as going back and forth with "volume"
> or "storage".
>
> Note that it's easier to skip articles in English than in other
> languages, for example Latin languages. From muri's email it seems like
> German would have a good solution with Persistenzspeicher. Translators
> in Latin language might have to always use an article, at least that
> what I often with people in Spanish. They would always "la Persistencia"
> or "una Persistencia" even where in English we might say "Persistence"
> only. Different languages might have to adjust to their specificity.
>
> I have only 1 question for Cody, on this example:
>
> - Cannot delete the Persistence on %s while in use. (from Persistence
> setup)
>
> It's the only example where you left the "the" article. Is it on purpose?


Yes, I purposely left the "the" in that example.

In that example, the user might not own the Persistence on the Tails USB
stick. "Your" implies ownership or possession. "The" does not.

I'm thinking of a scenario such as:

I want to introduce a friend to Tails. So, I create for my friend a
Tails USB stick. I assume my friend will want to save files and
settings, so I create Persistence on the Tails USB stick.

My friend decides to keep the Tails USB stick. However, my friend does
not want Persistence, and wants to delete it from the Tails USB stick.

In other words, my friend does not want to take ownership of _the_
Persistence, only of the Tails USB stick.

Hopefully this helps to clarify my reasoning for leaving in the "the".
If not, I'm sure I can come up with something better.

--
cbrownstein