Re: Please rename trusted-content to trusted-contents

[Stefan Kangas]

Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> writes:

> OK, I tried to figure it out, but at least the info I found wasn't
> very definitive.  It seems to have to do with whether it's countable or
> not, or whether it describe the "conceptual ideas" contained as opposed
> to the actual elements contained.
> I'm not sure which is more appropriate in this case and even less sure
> that one of the two is wrong.

English is my second language, but FWIW, my reading of some dictionaries
suggests to me that "contents" would be more correct.

Consider these examples from the Oxford Learners Dictionary:[1]

contents
[plural] the things that are contained in something

    He tipped the contents of the bag onto the table.
    Fire has caused severe damage to the contents of the building.
    She hadn't read the letter and so was unaware of its contents.
    She picked up the glass and drank the contents.

It this seems like it would be natural to talk about the "contents" of a
file or a buffer when referring to the exact text that is contained in
them.

The singular meaning leads to these examples instead:

content
[singular or uncountable] the ideas that are contained in a piece of
writing, a speech, or a film:

    It's a very stylish and beautiful film, but it lacks content.
    We've discussed the unusual form of the book - now, what about the content?

This is not what we want.  We also don't want this, I think:[2]

content
[uncountable] (computing) the information or other material contained on
a website or other digital media

    digital/video/online content
    We plan to spend more on creating content for the website.
    delivering premium content to users
    [etc.]

It's a similar story with Merriam-Webster[3] and the Cambridge
dictionary.[4]

This all leads me to believe that renaming the variables to

    trusted-contents
    untrusted-contents

might make the most sense here.

I'm not a big fan of "trusted-code" because this wrongly suggests to
users that e.g. Org files are safe, and the "macros-always-safe" idea
seems too technical to be readily understood by more casual users.

Footnotes:
[1]  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/content1

[2]  https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Content

[3]  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contents

[4]  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/content