Re: please indicate where messages in debconf dialogue are worth a bug report
Markus Hiereth wrote:
>> > msgid "System mail name:"
>> >
>> > s/System mail name:/The system's mail name
>
>> If this is a synopsis then we don't need the definite article. I
>> would almost prefer just saying "Mail name:" (after all, what could it
>> assign one to, if not the system you're installing postfix on?), but
>> there's no need to go overboard - the word helps to keep it obvious
>> that we aren't talking about a username or something.
>
> The string appears above an input field, the previous page explained
> "system mail name". I withdraw my suggestion adding an article and a
> genitiv form.
All this would be much simpler if we were starting from the source -
we need the .template file, not the message strings it's chopped up
into.
>> > "The \"mail name\" is the domain name used to \"qualify\" _ALL_ mail "
>> > "addresses without a domain name. This includes mail to and from <root>: "
>> > "please do not make your machine send out mail from root@example.org unless "
>> > "root@example.org has told you to."
[...]
>> > Do not make fun of debconf users. The joke seems quite trivial to me:
>
>> I don't think it is a joke - I think we have bug reporters who
>> genuinely insist on having it spelled out in the instructions that you
>> mustn't leave the mailname set to the default.
>
> I assume that the respective page initially appears with an empty
> input field. If root@example.org really was pre-defined
> somewhere/somehow as you assume, demanding for erasure or replacement
> seems reasonable.
If we were working from the .template file, we'd know...
>> > /Please choose a character used as recipient delimiter that will indicate a local address extensions
>>
>> No; for a start "recipient delimiter" sounds as if it's talking about
>> the comma in "To: foo, bar". Maybe:
>>
>> Please choose a delimiter character for defining local address extensions.
>>
>> or
>>
>> Please choose a character to define local address extensions when
>> used as a delimiter.
>
>> Or maybe even "when used as a delimiter in local-parts", although that
>> may be too technical.
>
> For me, the request is confusing as "Defining a local address
> extension" is to define the string to be used to yield a valid local
> address and not the selection of a certain character that indicates
> that a given addresse needs to be processed to yield a valid local
> address.
When it says "a character to define local address extensions", it
means "a character that will in future be treated as a special
character to define local address extensions"; no defining is being
done at the time this dialogue is dealt with.
Maybe it would be clearer as
Please choose a delimiter character for defining local address extensions.
Or even with an example?
(for instance "+" to allow addresses such as "name+extension@example.org").
>> > "Please specify the limit that Postfix should place on mailbox files to "
>> > "prevent runaway software errors. A value of zero (0) means no limit. The "
>> > "upstream default is 51200000."
>> >
>> > Alternative:
>> >
>> > Please specify the limit that Postfix should place on mailbox files
>> > (mbox-formatted files) to prevent data losses caused by software
>> > errors. A value of zero (0) means no limit. The authors of postfix set
>> > 51200000 as default.
>>
>> Does it in fact only mean mbox-format mailboxes? If so, less repetitively:
>>
>> Please specify the size limit that Postfix should place on mailbox
>> files in mbox format
>>
>> Do we know that it's about preventing loss of data rather than
>> avoiding filling the filesystem? If so, it's "data-loss", not "data
>> losses".
>>
>> Why change the "upstream default" part? For a start, we should
>> capitalise Postfix consistently.
>
> Meanwhile,I know what "upstream" means in the context of Debian
> software packages. Nevertheless I would recommend to replace the word
> by something tangible.
It may be jargon, but the problem is that there's no safe alternative;
"the authors of Postfix" might include the Debian (or indeed Ubuntu)
maintainer, so it's not a good way of drawing the contrast.
--
JBR
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