Standardize terminology

[eloquence]

To resolve #9, and for training/documentation, we should standardize our use of key terminology across docs & presentation materials. That includes conceptual terms we use to explain other terms (e.g., how do we explain what a VM is)?

[eloquence]

During discussion of training resources, we discussed yesterday whether or not to use the term "qube" in documentation or trainings. I suggested we should capture how Qubes itself uses the term, and how likely users are to be exposed to it.

• In the application menu, to create a new VM, you select "Create Qubes VM". The next dialog is titled "Create a new qube".
• Each VM menu entry has a "Qube settings" option.
• The "Q" widget in the system tray, which lists currently running VMs, has a column heading called "Qube".
• The more advanced VM management tool is called the "Qube Manager".
• The toast notifications that show up when a VM starts or shut down all have the bold text "Qube Status" (along with "domain", "template", etc.).

I think all of us have mixed feelings about the term. It's Qubes-specfic jargon, and when used in plural form, it can be very confusing ("are any of these qubes running?" - "Yes, Qubes is running").

Upon consideration, I would suggest that we explain the term in the glossary and in introductory materials. In this context, we can say that we refer to qubes simply as "VMs", and follow that practice consistently everywhere else. That said, I think it would be useful to get some input from the Qubes team on any plans they have to deepen or reduce use of the term.

[eloquence]

Regarding the top left Q menu, Qubes itself calls it the "Start Menu" in a few places: https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/managing-appvm-shortcuts/ https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/disposablevm/ https://www.qubes-os.org/getting-started/ https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/resize-disk-image/

It uses "Application Menu" or "appmenu" typically only for the list of applications associated with a single VM in the "Start Menu". This list can be managed for an individual VM using the Qube Settings, as explained here, for example: https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/dark-theme/

"Start Menu" may be a term at least familiar to Windows users. Since it is the term Qubes itself uses, I am inclined towards adopting it in our documentation, as well.

[ninavizz]

A majority of our journalist users are Mac users tho, no?

Wd help to get Qubes consistent in their own docs. M&M refer to the whole Q menu as "the app menu" in my convos with them. Maybe Andrew would be keen to standardize to App Menu? That's what I'm personally keen to standardize to. Mac users call it "the Apple menu," because for us it's... well, an Apple. I don't have a problem with Q-Menu, but suspect Linux users might.

Regardless, I know it's on their radar to kill the second "Q" in the tray, but I doubt that will ship in the next 2-3 months.

[eloquence]

Wd help to get Qubes consistent in their own docs. M&M refer to the whole Q menu as "the app menu" in my convos with them. Maybe Andrew would be keen to standardize to App Menu?

@marmarek @andrewdavidwong Thoughts? I want to make sure that we stay consistent with your usage. Right now "Start Menu" seems to be the more prominently used term in your docs, but happy to jointly adopt a term that's a bit clearer and less Windows-y.

[andrewdavidwong]

Thanks for asking! My personal thoughts:

• "Start Menu" is the term for the Windows menu. Since so many people are familiar with Windows, they tend to call any similar menu in other OSes by the same name. This is technically inaccurate, but people know what they mean. (The documentation is inconsistent because it's crowdsourced, and the limited time available for cleanup has been spent on more dire problems.)

  • In Qubes OS, I call that menu the "Applications Menu" because that's what it's called in Xfce4, which is currently the default desktop environment in Qubes 4.0. (In other words, we're just inheriting the existing name of an Xfce4 widget. Qubes didn't invent it.)

Between the two, I would prefer to call it "the Applications Menu," "the app menu," or similar, because I think "Start Menu" is too Windows-centric, but I don't have an extremely strong opinion.