Re: Debian menus policy

[Thomas Hood <jdthood@mail.com>]

I wonder whether this issue might be related to that
of package classification as discussed, e.g., in early
November:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2001/debian-devel-200111/msg00253.html

Certainly many of the issues are the same.  IMO the main
problem afflicting both classification and menufication
right now is the commission of "category mistakes".  Under
the one "Apps" menu we find "Editors", "Math", and "Net":
the first is a functional class, the second is treated as
a topical class, the third as a modal class (if you'll
pardon the expressions).  A network-enabled math editor
could go into any or all of these submenus.

What is most important in a menu is function.  It should
still be possible for a program to be put under multiple
submenus, but only if it were a multi-purpose program.

Instead of:           I suggest:
Apps                  
   Editors            Editing
   Text                  Text
   Graphics              Graphics
   Sound                 Sound
   Programming           Programs
   Viewers            Viewing
   Sound              Playing
   Math               Calculating
   Emulators          Turing
                         Emulators
                         Interpreters
   Shells                Shells
   Tools              Configuring
   System                System
   Net                   Network
                      Communicating
Games                 Gaming
XShells