We contradict our own advice about forgetting about ssh keys

[maneesha]

What is the problem?

In the section about keeping ssh keys secure, first we say that you can set it and forget it, but immediately after we have a callout that says you shouldn't forget about your ssh keys because they keep your account secure.

We should clarify this language to make it less confusing.

Location of problem (optional)

https://swcarpentry.github.io/git-novice/07-github.html#keeping-your-keys-secure

[martinosorb]

I think this was done on purpose. It says "you can forget..." but then the callout says "...but don't actually", and it's a callout because this is more of a detail. Would it help if it said "you shouldn't actually forget...", so that it's clear we are purposefully referencing the previous sentence?

[maneesha]

I think this can be confusing to a novice learner, to say "You can forget it, but don't really forget it." More explicit language may be more useful here.

[erinmgraham]

Hi @maneesha,

Thank you for your contribution to the git-novice repository. We should have asked for you to suggest more explicit language at the time to make this section more clear ;-)

I'm actually in favour of dropping the section starting with the sentence "The first thing" and ending with 'Since they don't exist on Alfredo's computer". Even if the user already has a key pair we don't have content explaining how to use them instead of a new one and the content continues as if they don't already have a key pair.

We could then move the 'keeping your keys secure' callout to the end of section 3.1 after ls-ing that directory and add that the ssh directory could have multiple keys, e.g. "Remember, your SSH keys are crucial for keeping your account secure. The .ssh directory on your computer can contain multiple keys, each used for different purposes or remotes. For example, depending on how the key pairs were set up, you may find filenames such as id_rsa/id_rsa.pub that reflect the key type. It's good practice to audit your SSH keys regularly, especially if you use multiple computers to access your account."

Would that make things less confusing?

[maneesha]

It is hard to imagine what that will look like once it's all changed, but I think that makes sense.