ubuntu-manual team mailing list archive

[Hannie Dumoleyn <lafeber-dumoleyn2@xxxxxxxxx>]

**Op 24-07-12 06:28, Jim Connett schreef:
> Good day.
>
> I plan to work through Chapter 2 this week on the e2 branch. I was 
> trying to get all my documents together, and I thought there was a 
> document somewhere that outlined what terminology we were going to use 
> (i.e., what is the "menubar", how we are typesetting "the dash" (...or 
> is it "The Dash", or just "Dash", etc.). I know there has been some 
> informal discussion and emails back and forth, but I'd really like to 
> go through this chapter with this information in hand (the first time).
>
> Any references/links/etc are greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
> --Jim
Hi Jim,
The best reference would be "our" style guide 
http://files.ubuntu-manual.org/style-guide.pdf where you find the 
chapter "Word list".
When a decision is made for a certain word, it is mentioned in this 
chapter. Thus, we capitalize Dash and Launcher (this decision was made a 
while ago).

Now, menu bar or menubar (or should we use top bar?) is still not 
decided on. It really gives me a headache.
In the style guide it says:
menubar is always one word (never menu bar).

Question:
Do we follow the GNOME documentation style guide (one word, menubar) or 
the official Ubuntu Documentation (2 words, menu bar)?
Personally, I think it is best to stick to the official Ubuntu term 
"menu bar" (GUI and Documentation).
Hannie


Below, I have pasted some of the answers to the question: "top bar or 
menu bar":

Kevin wrote:

The primary reason our style guide recommends "menubar" over "menu
bar" is to be consistent with the GNOME documentation style guide:
<http://developer.gnome.org/gdp-style-guide/stable/gnome-glossary-desktop.html.en>.

Having said that, the "menubar" referred to in the GNOME documentation
style guide is the one attached to each individual window (containing
the File, Edit, View, etc. menus).

If we're using "menubar" to refer to the "top bar" or "top panel" or
what have you, then we can consider other spelling options (two words,
capitalization, etc.).

Additionally, per the GNOME docs style guide, menubar should be one
word, not two
=========================
As an answer to the question "top bar or menu bar"*Phil Bull wrote*:

I'm one of the people who worked on setting terminology for the
upstream GNOME documentation. The GNOME docs style guide you're using
is probably outdated (we need to update it - that sounds like a
recommendation for GNOME 2.x).

When choosing terminology, we try to use terms that are (in decreasing
order of approximate importance):

(1) Wholly unambiguous
(2) Easy to understand
(3) Validated by user testing
(4) Non-technical (not jargon)
(5) Concise
(6) Consistent with ingrained terminology

It's not always possible to fulfil all these criteria, but you can
normally hit the first three at least. Once a term has been chosen, the
next important step is to use it consistently everywhere (docs and
software).
The term that we use in GNOME is "top bar", which matches (1)-(5). And
yes - for (3), we actually tested this term on real users.
In my experience, this sort of discussion goes round in circles, and
no-one ever makes a decision because no-one feels they have the
authority. That being the case, I humbly suggest that you defer to the
upstream GNOME recommendation, "top bar", as justified above. Does
anyone have any objections to that?
=========================
*Jeremy Bicha wrote*:
The official Ubuntu term is "menu bar". Besides the official Ubuntu
documentation, this can be found in multiple places in System Settings
such as "Show battery status in the menu bar".

The GNOME documentation calls the similar space in GNOME Shell "top bar".

Personally, I like the "menu bar" name as the top of the screen
includes application menus, application status menus, and system
status menus. The only part that isn't a menu is the window management
buttons (close, minimize, maximize) and the app title.

Thanks for asking as clear and consistent word choices are important!
========================
*Matthew East (ubuntu Documentation Team) wrote*:
The problem is that, as per Jeremy's earlier email, the language we
use should be consistent with the wording used in the UI, which is
"menu bar". This appears in the system settings, and also in some of
the menus themselves. Any proposed change to this terminology needs to
be taken up with the team which designs Ubuntu's UI.
========================


Conclusion:
Do we follow the GNOME documentation style guide (one word, menubar) or 
the official Ubuntu Documentation (2 words, menu bar)?
Personally, I think it is best to stick to the official Ubuntu term 
"menu bar" (GUI and Documentation).
Hannie



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