On 09/18/15 22:59, Robert J. Hansen wrote:
>> "Valid signature using untrusted key..." ?
> 
> I'd actually go even further.  I'd break it into two entries: "Digital
> signature" and "Confidence".  E.g.:
> 
> Digital signature: PRESENT
> Confidence level:  NONE
> 
> Then let people click on each to get more detailed information.  E.g.,
> if they click on "None" a pop-up window might say, "Although the digital
> signature is present, it cannot be verified because you do not have the
> sender's public key."

I like the idea of separating signature presence/validity from key
confidence level.  I think this is a better approach than trying to
combine two [even related] concepts into a single message.  Though I'm
not sure about 'PRESENT' as a signature status.  Since enigmail does not
report anything about a message with no signature or encryption, PRESENT
doesn't really contain very much useful information.  It's a bit of a
NOOP.  I started out thinking about three levels of signature status —
VALID, INVALID, NONE - but would NONE ever actually get used?  If
signature status is NONE, the dog doesn't bark at all.  And do we also
need a PARTIAL?

In the case of PARTIAL, which comes up *frequently* on this list for
example, it would also be great if we could come up with a way to show
*which parts* of a message are signed, and whether those partial
signatures are valid.  For instance, the message *body* has a valid
signature, but an unsigned footer has been appended.


> I would also suggest that we consider diverging from GnuPG's
> terminology.  GnuPG is a command-line application; Enigmail is a GUI
> application.  Language that makes sense in one context may not make
> sense in another.  GnuPG needs to deliver maximum information in the
> minimum number of words, which means their language will tend to be
> terse and cryptic.  We don't have that problem.  We have the luxury of
> room to explain things -- maybe we should consider exploiting that!

A good thought.  Leverage what you've got, not what some related package
is constrained to.



-- 
  Phil Stracchino
  Babylon Communications
  [email protected]
  [email protected]
  Landline: 603.293.8485

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Description: OpenPGP digital signature

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