Colors Survey!

[ninavizz]

Brief summary
Community contributor @hackerncoder has created a survey (thank you!) to learn more about how folks use colors, in Qubes. This Issue is to contain feedback and findings to/from that effort. It compliments Issue #2523 and originated on #6414.

That survey is here:
https://survey.encryptionin.space/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=178339&lang=en

[ninavizz]

From @hackerncoder:

@ninavizz Here is my survey: https://survey.encryptionin.space/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=178339&lang=en. I would love some feedback (I'm a developer, not a UX person) before I send it out.

[ninavizz]

@hackerncoder Thank you for reaching-out and for putting this together! Sure, a few thoughts...

1. You want to ask as little as possible of people, when hitting them up with a survey. Asking them to "think" is often a showstopper... even though, yes, as researchers, that is basically our motivation—to learn how they think (lol). As such, fixed-choice options with easy to parse answers, will more often be answered, than open-text questions. Likewise, fixed-choice questions are easier to meaningfully analyze.

2. LimeSurvey has a bug w/ some version of Firefox and Android. On our survey, I included a warning to folks on the first page. I'd recommend you do the same... especially since we got folks investing a LOT of time into answers, then feeling immense frustration when their browsers cut them off and dumped their surveys.

3. I'd also love it, if you could qualify your survey as coming from a community member, and not the Qubes team itself... for a few reasons. One, survey fatigue: this ain't us, it's you! :) Two, I want folks to be clear who is owning this data—it ain't us. Including a link to your website, or your GH, I'd also advise—just to be kosher and transparent.

Finally, I'd recommend creating two sections for your survey. The first, should be fixed-answer options. The second, should be the free-text options. People will more likely answer the prior than the latter—and they well could have more meaningful answers to contribute to one or the other.

I pulled 2 questions from our existing "Welcome!" survey, and drafted 2, for the below, as my suggestions for the first section. My syntax below is radio-buttons for parenthesis, and checkboxes for brackets.

1. How do you utilize the VM colors in qubes?
   ( ) To 'theme' different isolation domains
   ( ) To indicate different threat levels
   ( ) I haven't given it any thought
   ( ) I haven't decided, yet
   ( ) Other: please describe, below [text field to describe]

2. Do you feel you have too few or too many color choices, for how you use the qube colors?
   ( ) Too few
   ( ) Too many
   ( ) Neither—but different palettes for the 7 color options would be nice to pick from
   ( ) Other: [open text field to explain]

3. How long have you been using Qubes OS?
   ( ) Less than 6mos
   ( ) Between 6mos and 2 years
   ( ) Between 2 and 4 years

4. Which of the following traits describe you?
   [ ] Academic
   [ ] Activist
   [ ] Business Owner
   [ ] Employer
   [ ] Executive
   [ ] FOSS/Libre project contributor
   [ ] Information or IT security professional
   [ ] IT generalist professional
   [ ] Journalist
   [ ] Non-Profit/NGO worker
   [ ] Private sector (non-government) worker
   [ ] Software or web developer
   [ ] Student
   [ ] Other: [textfield]

[hackerncoder]

Thank you nina! As I said, I'm a dev, so having someone like you take a look at it is great. I have added all of what you suggested.

Edit: Someone has gone in and answered the first page!

[ninavizz]

WOO!!! Really looking forward to seeing the results... TY again, for doing this! <3 <3 <3

[ninavizz]

BTW @hackerncoder there is an option in Lime to not datestamp answers... which actually does datestamp them, just all to the same datestamp in 1983 or something. You may want to turn that on, as an extra layer of security for yourself. FYI. :)

[hackerncoder]

I think the datestamp is just whether the survey is anonymous (mine is): https://forums.limesurvey.org/forum/design-issues/84287-adjusting-date-time-stamp. I also checked the answers, and they are dated 1980-01-01...

I'm also excited, 13 have done the entire thing. 29 in total.

[hackerncoder]

I think this is just how it will be, so it should just be creating a post on the forum, a mail to qubes-users and a post on reddit right?

[andrewdavidwong]

I think this is just how it will be, so it should just be creating a post on the forum, a mail to qubes-users and a post on reddit right?

It depends on what exactly you're trying to do, but that sounds right.

[hackerncoder]

Spreading the word that I have created a survey and hopefully getting people to do it.

[andrewdavidwong]

Spreading the word that I have created a survey and hopefully getting people to do it.

Yep, those are the places to spread the word. One thing to keep in mind is that messages sent to qubes-users are mirrored read-only onto the forum.

[ninavizz]

My only advisement would be to keep the post with the link to the survey short, and to be mindful of the first sentence. The way we phrased the calls on the Qubes download page, I really like.

• First 1-2 sentences "Hey, take a few minutes to do this thing! It's anonymous, etc"
• Then the link
• Then, explain what you're hoping to learn and why it matters
• Then share when you expect to share-out "findings," aka results.

Which channels you post the above to, entirely your call. I'm personally unable to keep my head above water in the forums and email lists, so if you feel up to navigating those waters, extra w00t! Go forth and learn, we be cheerin' for ya (and of course, excited to learn what you learn!). TY, again!

[hackerncoder]

I would post to all three, but reddit isn't letting me, and my qubes-users mail doesn't seem to have landed? Anyways, I'll figure it out.

I have again added all of your suggestions.

I have already learned a few things, but it is of course waay to early to say anything.

[ninavizz]

It's REALLY hard to resist running forth with the excitement "WOO, I learned these things and now I know!" after your first few answers. That will never go away, but I'm thrilled you're doing this new thing! TY for inviting me/us along for the ride. :)

[andrewdavidwong]

How long have you been using Qubes OS?
Choose one of the following answers
Less than 6 months
Between 6 months and 2 years
Between 2 and 4 years
No answer

FYI, there is no option for people like me who have been using Qubes for more than four years, so I just selected "Between 2 and 4 years." 🙂

(If that's what you intended for that option, then you could simply reword it to "More than two years.")

[ninavizz]

Well, crud! I need to update our survey to add a "+4yrs" entry.
@hackerncoder Could you perhaps add a "+4yrs" option to the question, per @andrewdavidwong's note above?

Thx Andrew! :)
It's honestly less about the "time" and more about the history with different versions and the evolution of the software, past 2yrs. It is helpful to know who's past the 4yr threshold.

[andrewdavidwong]

@hackerncoder: FYI, I just saw that three copies of your email to qubes-users were caught in the spam filter, so I allowed the most recent one through and rejected the other two duplicates.

[hackerncoder]

I could guess that is the problem, I think it's some trouble with DKIM. But thanks!

Yes, I added the +4yrs yesterday.

It is really hard. I'm a little child, and there is a month to Christmas.

Edit because I don't want to flood the issue: There is a user that had some input outside of the survey, just noting it down here to not forget it: https://qubes-os.discourse.group/t/qubes-users-survey-from-hackerncoder-colors-in-qubesos/3292/2

[ninavizz]

@hackerncoder Heya! Would you mind re-enabling Replies in that thread? I'd love to engage the no-email-user person to contact the research@qubes-os email to interview them... as Qubes for journalists is my focus on a separate project. :D

[ninavizz]

@hackerncoder Awesome, TY!! Now that I've got it, would you mind nuking your 2 comments above, so the security of the individual behind that email is not connected to "a qubes user"?

[deeplow]

@hackerncoder Heya! Would you mind re-enabling Replies in that thread? I'd love to engage the no-email-user person to contact the research@qubes-os email to interview them... as Qubes for journalists is my focus on a separate project. :D

@ninavizz we mirror the mailinglist on the forum. (I'm an admin there). So that's just a user-friendly read-only version of the mailinglist (hence why you can't reply). The user is named no_email_user because users only received the email forwarded from qubes-users@googlegroups.com so the forum software couldn't figure out the name as well. So I don't know how to reach out to the user directly (except maybe sending them a message on that mailinglist thread). But I'm no mailinglist guru.

edit: I've renamed the @no_email_user to @mailinglist_bot to hopefully reduce some confusion.

[ninavizz]

@hackerncoder Hiya! How's this study going? If you'd feel up to sending me a .csv of the results, I'd LOVE to see them! email and gpg key are on the website... https://www.qubes-os.org/team/

TY again, for taking on this study! Important data to gather. :) If not many folks have completed the survey, btw, we can also probably Tweet/Toot it from the QubesOS account as a "Community contributor created survey".

[hackerncoder]

You're right @ninavizz! It's already been a month (wow). I'll get to them as soon as I can.

[hackerncoder]

@ninavizz Your key doesn't exist on gnupg, is there anywhere else I could get it?

[ninavizz]

@hackerncoder It should be on the Qubes website, (behind the GPG Key padlock-icon link), or on my own website at http://www.bigwheel.net behind a hyperlink at the bottom of the text blab on the first page.

GPG is both wonderful and awful. I doubt you will ever find anyone to disagree with you, on that!

[hackerncoder]

The Qubes website links to http://keys.gnupg.net/pks/lookup?search=0x97A253361A54C66FE1DF515B081246AC3393E74F&fingerprint=on&exact=on&op=get&options=mr

It doesn't seem to be that I am stupid and I need to use GPG:

$ gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --receive-keys 97A253361A54C66FE1DF515B081246AC3393E74F

gpg: keyserver receive failed: No data

Seems the key on your website is for your gmail, and also served from an non-https site.

[ninavizz]

Seems the key on your website is for your gmail, and also served from an non-https site.

That is correct, because I am stupid—not you! "How many dorks does it take to screw-in a GPG key..." sigh

The key for team@research.qubes-os.org is on the Qubes Team page, and that's an email that both Marta and I check. Perhaps try that?

@adw Not sure why the key issues are happening with my GMail key on the Qubes server. This has just been the week-o-follies for email, evidently. Will ping you off GH about that, tho.

[hackerncoder]

http://keys.gnupg.net/pks/lookup?search=0x4D2EB2FAE2BE5E8FD7852DE0DE1B6337FF6C36F1&fingerprint=on&exact=on&op=get&options=mr

 

Hey, at least I got to look around your website. You're a great person, the FAQ, my interactions with you, just everything. You've given me some chuckles, some hope, I guess I really needed that. You indeed are "an upbeat optimist".

 

OH and @andrewdavidwong is not adw. Hi @adw, who... hasn't done anything since 2018, welp.

[ninavizz]

@hackerncoder LOL, ok—at least I'm accomplishing something? 👯‍♀️ I may not have yet pushed that key to the keyserver; ProtonMail manages that email address. Lemme go there to see if I did something wrong.

[ninavizz]

insert andrew, marek, marta, michael, and all others, heartily facepalming

[hackerncoder]

GPG is one beast, I can barely understand it.

[ninavizz]

@hackerncoder I DID IT!!! Try again? Apparently ProtonMail doesn't synchronize that for you, and I needed to add the key, my very own self...

[hackerncoder]

YAY! There is a key for team@research.qubes-os.org!

[hackerncoder]

Fits quite well, I think I figured mine out too; https://data.encryptionin.space/master.pub.pgp

[hackerncoder]

Aaaand Sent! Be sure to check your spam, I had some problems last time I tried to do mail: #6463 (comment)

[ninavizz]

@hackerncoder I promise I will never, ever send you proprietary formats! Will post some analysis here, within the week. Maybe tonight, but within the week. Dinnertime candy, yeah!

[adw]

OH and @andrewdavidwong is not adw. Hi @adw, who... hasn't done anything since 2018, welp.

Hello! I wasn't expecting to be called out like this today, but hey, I've been busy :-)

[andrewdavidwong]

@ninavizz, you still need to upload your own key to public keyservers. You'll know you've succeeded when this link starts working: http://keys.gnupg.net/pks/lookup?search=0x97A253361A54C66FE1DF515B081246AC3393E74F&fingerprint=on&exact=on&op=get&options=mr

It is currently broken on the team page under your name.

[andrewdavidwong]

This Issue is to contain feedback and findings to/from that effort.

That's not what qubes-issues is for. Please see:

https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/reporting-bugs/#issue-tracker-guidelines

At any rate, I think this issue has served its intended purpose. Closing.