[tor-bugs] #6355 [Metrics/Atlas]: Distinguish between running relays and non-running relays which last had the Running flag

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#6355: Distinguish between running relays and non-running relays which last had
the Running flag
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 Reporter:  karsten        |          Owner:  phw
     Type:  enhancement    |         Status:  needs_review
 Priority:  High           |      Milestone:
Component:  Metrics/Atlas  |        Version:
 Severity:  Normal         |     Resolution:
 Keywords:                 |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:                 |         Points:
 Reviewer:                 |        Sponsor:
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Comment (by karsten):

 Replying to [comment:18 RaBe]:
 > Hehe, OK here's a brief summary:

 Thanks a lot!

 > To make it more clear that a relay flagged "running" might not be
 running ATM, we could use any combination of the following:
 >
 > - remove (or keep) the "running" flag

 Removing that flag is not a good option for the reasons stated above.
 Please don't do this.

 > - add an "offline" pseudo flag as in #21367

 Not a good option, either.  I'd suggest moving the "Not Recommended" part
 down to "Platform" on the details page and adding a new column with the
 version number and possibly a red exclamation mark to the search results.
 Flags are assigned by the directory authorities, not by Onionoo or Atlas.
 Adding pseudo flags will only confuse users.

 > - add a label "offline" to the relay name

 Yup, that could work.

 > - grey out the table rows of offline relays

 That's a lot of gray.  Maybe just gray out the flags?  Not sure if that
 helps, though.

 > - keep looking for other solutions

 An easy one might be to change tooltips from present tense to past tense:
 "Fast: This relay was suitable [...]", "Running: This relay was running",
 etc.

 Here's another one, but it's probably way too much for this ticket: We
 could rearrange fields on the details page by whichever source provided
 that information.  Sources in this case include: 1) the relay or bridge
 itself (published at least once every 18 hours), 2) the directory
 authorities or bridge authority (published once per hour), 3) the exit
 list service (which scans once or twice per day), or 4) Onionoo which
 looks up relay IPs in GeoIP files or runs reverse DNS queries (updated
 once per hour).  This would make it a bit easier to emphasize that
 information coming from, say, 2 is not current anymore, including flags
 but also consensus weight.  But only because one source is outdated
 doesn't affect the other sources, for example, platform information as
 reported by the relay or bridge doesn't suddenly become less accurate only
 because the directory authorities think that a relay is offline.  Anyway,
 this is probably a more long-term project.  It seemed related here,
 though.

 All in all, adding a label "offline" to the relay name, possibly graying
 out the flags, and adapting tooltips would be my choices for now.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/6355#comment:19>
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