MantisBT - Doomseeker
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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0003942DoomseekerUIpublic2021-12-15 21:162022-03-22 11:11
ReporterZalewa 
Assigned ToZalewa 
PrioritylowSeveritytextReproducibilityN/A
StatusclosedResolutionfixed 
PlatformOSOS Version
Product Version1.3.2 
Target Version1.3.3Fixed in Version1.3.3 
Summary0003942: Clumsy language in various messages - could be improved
DescriptionLooking at the messages displayed by Doomseeker I notice now that they are phrased in a manner that makes them more understandable for the programmer rather than the player. Or their phrasing is pure gibberish.

The exact cases need to be identified, but one example is here:'https://zandronum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=10413 [^]'

"Client binary cannot be obtained for Zandronum, please check the location given in the configuration."

The problems with this are:

1. What exactly is a "client binary"? What is a "binary"? What is "client"? A Linux user may be able to figure out what a "binary" is, but Windows just calls them "executables". Can't this message just say "Game for Zandronum not found?"
2. What is this "location" that needs to be checked? What does it mean to "*check* the location"?
3. Just because the message says that something was "given in the configuration" it doesn't precisely means that the user needs to navigate to the config box, then find Zandronum there, then correct the path to the game's executable.

Steps To Reproduce
Additional InformationI've recently stumbled upon these guidelines from the UK government for writing government documents so that they can be more helpful to the people. I believe a lot of the advice here can be applied to programs and their documentation too:
'https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk [^]'
TagsNo tags attached.
Relationships
related to 0003943closed Zalewa Clumsy language in the Polish translation 
Attached Files
Issue History
Date ModifiedUsernameFieldChange
2021-12-15 21:16ZalewaNew Issue
2021-12-15 21:18ZalewaRelationship addedrelated to 0003943
2021-12-15 21:21Pol MStatusnew => confirmed
2021-12-21 13:36ZalewaNote Added: 0021963
2021-12-25 09:01ZalewaAssigned To => Zalewa
2021-12-25 09:01ZalewaStatusconfirmed => assigned
2021-12-25 09:51ZalewaNote Added: 0022010
2021-12-27 18:24ZalewaNote Added: 0022012
2021-12-27 18:29ZalewaNote Added: 0022013
2021-12-27 18:38WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0022017
2021-12-27 22:37ZalewaTarget Version => 1.3.3
2021-12-27 22:50ZalewaNote Added: 0022018
2021-12-27 22:50ZalewaNote Edited: 0022018bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=22018#r13512
2021-12-28 10:23WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0022024
2021-12-28 10:36ZalewaNote Added: 0022025
2021-12-29 14:05ZalewaNote Added: 0022049
2022-01-02 12:13ZalewaNote Added: 0022069
2022-01-02 12:13ZalewaNote Added: 0022070
2022-01-02 12:13ZalewaNote Deleted: 0022070
2022-01-17 19:58ZalewaNote Added: 0022090
2022-01-17 19:58ZalewaStatusassigned => resolved
2022-01-17 19:58ZalewaFixed in Version => 1.3.3
2022-01-17 19:58ZalewaResolutionopen => fixed
2022-03-22 11:11WubTheCaptainStatusresolved => closed

Notes
(0021963)
Zalewa   
2021-12-21 13:36   
Microsoft recommends sentence-style capitalization (ie. natural) for tree views and menu actions. We use "Title Capitalization" in the config boxes and in the main menu.

Search for "capitalization":

1.'https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/uxguide/cmd-menus [^]'
2.'https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/uxguide/ctrl-tree-views [^]'

Whether or not we wish to follow that is a matter of preference, but I've checked several apps I have installed on my computer and all of them but Emacs use the sentence-style capitalization.
(0022010)
Zalewa   
2021-12-25 09:51   
Fix for the "Client binary..." plus some small fixes:'https://bitbucket.org/Doomseeker/doomseeker/commits/6ad0b3efca27508b36db5b3ae5b258bd0839099c [^]'
(0022012)
Zalewa   
2021-12-27 18:24   
The dialog boxes have a variety of title formats:

"just title"
"Just title"
"Just Title"
"Doomseeker (or Wadseeker) - a subtitle here"
"Doomseeker - A Subtitle Here"
"Doomseeker - A subtitle here"

Some consistency could be applied here too.
(0022013)
Zalewa   
2021-12-27 18:29   
Relevant fixes in the main program:
*'https://bitbucket.org/Doomseeker/doomseeker/commits/67b838244a4700e36965a77eba9b569a2d0768ed [^]'
*'https://bitbucket.org/Doomseeker/doomseeker/commits/8eb89e8543270b4aebbbcd298988176940989b71 [^]'
(0022017)
WubTheCaptain   
2021-12-27 18:38   
Quote
-        <string>User name</string>
+        <string>User name:</string>

'https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/user_name [^]'
Quote from Wiktionary
Noun
user name (plural user names)
  1. Alternative spelling of username

s/user name/username/
(0022018)
Zalewa   
2021-12-27 22:50   
Alternative spelling is still valid? Dunno why you are poking at it.
(0022024)
WubTheCaptain   
2021-12-28 10:23   
Quote from Zalewa
Alternative spelling is still valid? Dunno why you are poking at it.

I like US English (en-US). Such as "localisation" (en-GB, alternative spelling) vs "localization" (en-US). But then I went to Wiktionary and didn't find "user name" to be en-GB vs en-US differences. So I made a web search and...
'https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/43436/username-user-name-or-user-name [^]'
In context of the quote: It's from "IRC - Connect to Network" dialog. It has both "Real name:" and "User name:". Both of those could mean the same thing. "Username" would be understood as e.g. operating system username.
RFC 1459 § 4.1.3 also calls it "Username". RFC 2812 also calls it "Username". Both are IRC RFCs.
(0022025)
Zalewa   
2021-12-28 10:36   
Quote from Wub
RFC 1459 § 4.1.3 also calls it "Username". RFC 2812 also calls it "Username". Both are IRC RFCs.

Fine. This part convinces me.

'https://bitbucket.org/Doomseeker/doomseeker/commits/9badea8313799dab5eaad9624b985a7aced007c5 [^]'
(0022049)
Zalewa   
2021-12-29 14:05   
Menu actions (and dock titles) will now use natural capitalization:'https://bitbucket.org/Doomseeker/doomseeker/commits/f6cc52ce43ec00a343e2b66db59f21af07a1a81a [^]'
(0022069)
Zalewa   
2022-01-02 12:13   
Texts in the Zandronum plugin:'https://bitbucket.org/Doomseeker/doomseeker/commits/65a78e03a8f22d7ec14d55c0e0761166adf45885 [^]'

I tried to keep all the translations in sync here where the changes were simple enough. Hope I didn't break anything in the Spanish or Catalan t10ns.
(0022090)
Zalewa   
2022-01-17 19:58   
I guess we can mark this as resolved since the release of 1.3.3 is in progress. I suspect there are more texts that could be improved (even though it's an "in the eye of the beholder" kinda thing), but any further work is for another release.