Fontbakery: Idea: rename "ERROR" to "System Error"

[davelab6]

original title of this issue was: Rename "FAIL" to "MUST"?

A user wrote to me thinking that "ERROR" meant "must do"... perhaps we should rename "FAIL" to "MUST" so its clearer..?

[felipesanches]

no thanks ;-)

[graphicore]

Did the user actually see an ERROR? We're hunting these down!

[felipesanches]

I was quick to close this issue because I think renaming "FAIL" to "MUST" is a bad idea. It does not address the real issue: if FAILs were called "MUST" (or anything else, really), a user would still see ERRORs and maybe misinterpret them.

Also, we already explain to the user what each log-level mean (#2823):

[felipesanches]

But maybe we could print "System Error" instead of "ERROR", and that would help a lot indeed!

[vv-monsalve]

But maybe we could print "System Error" instead of "ERROR", and that would help a lot indeed!

We have had this question or confusion often, so a more detailed name could be actually helpful :)

FontBakery ERROR Could be more explicit for the users, as System could lead them to think in something about a conflict with their Operative Systems.

[felipesanches]

I think System Error is good because it could either be a FontBakery bug or a problem with the system itself such as a bad installation of one of the dependencies.

Also, it would sound redundant if FontBakery emitted a FontBakery Error.

[felipesanches]

Up to now, my understanding is that "system" was implicit whenever we said ERROR. I think we're just planning to make this explicit now.

[graphicore]

Maybe INTERNAL_SYSTEM_ERROR or INTERNAL_SOFTWARE_ERROR

[felipesanches]

I'll stick to SYSTEM_ERROR. I won't prepend INTERNAL_ because we don't want to assume too much about the problem and we can't say it is always an "internal" matter.

just joking: we could also rename it to BORKED! ;-)

[graphicore]

I would expect that a user would read "internal" and (naturally) understand it can't be fixed in their fonts. So, it's less about what we assume and more about what the user understands.

[felipesanches]

Is SYSTEM_ERROR really too bad? I fear we're entering bike-shedding territory.

[graphicore]

With SYSTEM_ERROR we may end up with inexperienced users reinstalling their OS, because the system has an error.

[vv-monsalve]

With SYSTEM_ERROR we may end up with inexperienced users reinstalling their OS, because the system has an error.

This is also my reasoning/concern around this. I think INTERNAL_SOFTWARE_ERROR would be clearer for any given user.

just joking: we could also rename it to BORKED! ;-)

New word learned :D

[felipesanches]

INTERNAL_SOFTWARE_ERROR is way too long.

Are we all happy with INTERNAL_ERROR then?

[graphicore]

Honestly, I would rather leave ERROR as it may break stuff, e.g. if other parties/foundries have implemented their own reporters or such things, and it's so fundamental, it may affect a lot places. It's also a rather big effort, and we don't know if the desired effect is created with the new wording, so I would not change it on a hunch. Not sure how to make sure a new word is actually a better word.

The original problem seems to me is not solved by a new word, maybe an interface, that says more explicitly what to do, and in what order is required (but it may feel patronizing):

Your Recipe (i.e. TODO-list):

1. Report the ERRORs to us at fontbakery/issues. Sorry for the inconvenience:
   
   
   
   • ERROR Message …
   
   
   • ERROR Message …
   
   
2. Fix the FAILs in your fonts:
   
   
   
   • FAIL Message …
   
   
   • FAIL Message …
   
   
3. Consider if the WARNs in your fonts require action:
   
   
   
   • WARN Message …
     
     (etc.)
   
   

But, if a user is not reading the information we have now, I don't know if a different form of writing it down changes that.

[felipesanches]

yeah, I agree.

[vv-monsalve]

What about complementing the current texts? (suggestions in **)

    An ERROR is something wrong with FontBakery itself, possibly a bug. *Please report it in https://github.com/googlefonts/fontbakery/issues*
    A FAIL is a problem with the font that must be fixed.
    A WARN is something that *could be wrong in the font please inspect and address it if necessary*.
    An INFO result simply prints something useful. Typically stats.
    A PASS means the font looks good for the given checking routine.
    And a SKIP happens when the check does not apply to the given font.