Re: Description for sshproxy

[Justin B Rye <jbr@edlug.org.uk>]

MJ Ray wrote:
>> Description: authentication management gateway for SSH connections
>>  An  SSH proxy allows  users to  connect without  having to  remember or
> 
> ,s/^ An  SSH proxy/ This SSH proxy/
> # or
> ,s/^ An  SSH proxy allows/ A SSH proxy that allows/

I'd go for "This SSH proxy allows".  The problem with "A(n) SSH
proxy that allows..." is that it doesn't form a full sentence - it's
another noun phrase like the short description. 

(And I pronounce "SSH" as "ess-ess-aitch", which takes "an".  I do
occasionally pronounce "sshing" as something like "sooshing", but I
think that's just me.) 

>>  share the passwords or the keys  of the remote site. They first connect
> 
> ,s/^ share the passwords/ have the passwords/

I don't like "having to remember or have the passwords"!  How about:

   This SSH proxy allows users to connect without having
   passwords or keys for the remote site.

We might re-expand it into "without needing to (or being allowed to)
memorize passwords", which would cover both sides (easy access for
newly hired admins as well as instant lockouts of fired ones).
That's getting far too convoluted, though - and worse when I start 
trying to fit SSH keys back in. 

>>  to the proxy  using their own credentials then  the proxy initiates the
>         
> ,s/credentials then  the/credentials and then the/         
> # or         
> ,s/credentials then  the/credentials.  Then, the/         

I didn't spot that!  But re-nitpicking at maximum pedantry, it also
occurs to me that "they first connect" and then they second do
nothing else - it's the SSH-proxy that handles the rest.  So maybe
it should be, in full: 

   This SSH proxy allows users to connect without having passwords or keys
   for the remote site. First they connect to the proxy using their own
   credentials, and then the proxy initiates the connection to the remote
   site using, for example, the root password. Access Control Lists are
   used to check that a user is authorized to connect to a given remote
   site.

(I've shifted the "first" and capitalised the expansion for ACLs.)
-- 
JBR	with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
	sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package