Proofreading about.rst and history.rst

docs/introducing/about.rst

@@ -4,24 +4,20 @@
 About
 #####
 
-VyOS is an open source network operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux.
+VyOS is an open-source network operating system that provides a single unified 
+CLI and API to manage routing protocols, firewall and NAT, QoS, load balancing, 
+DHCP and DNS servers, and many other features.
 
-VyOS provides a free routing platform that competes directly with other
-commercially available solutions from well known network providers. Because
-VyOS runs on standard amd64, i586 and ARM systems, it is able to be used
-as a router and firewall platform for cloud deployments.
+VyOS runs on a wide variety of commodity hardware, virtual machines, and 
+multiple cloud environments.
 
-We use multiple live versions of our manual, hosted thankfully by
-https://readthedocs.org. We will provide one version of the manual for every
-VyOS major version starting with VyOS 1.2 which will receive Long-term support
-(LTS).
+We provide a dedicated user guide for each major 
+VyOS release that receives long-term support (LTS). We maintain multiple user 
+guide versions, all hosted at https://docs.vyos.io. 
+To switch between versions, select the appropriate version in the bottom-right 
+corner.
 
-The manual version is selected/specified by it's Git branch name. You can
-switch between versions of the documentation by selecting the appropriate
-branch on the bottom left corner.
-
-VyOS CLI syntax may change between major (and sometimes minor) versions. Please
-always refer to the documentation matching your current, running installation.
-If a change in the CLI is required, VyOS will ship a so called migration script
-which will take care of adjusting the syntax. No action needs to be taken by
-you.
+VyOS CLI syntax may vary between major and sometimes minor releases. Always 
+refer to the documentation matching your current running installation. If 
+a change in the CLI is required, VyOS provides a migration script to handle 
+the syntax adjustments. No user action is required.

docs/introducing/history.rst

@@ -7,127 +7,116 @@ History
 In the beginning...
 ===================
 
-There once was a network operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux,
-called Vyatta. [*]_ 2006 onwards, it was a great free software
-alternative to Cisco IOS and Jupiter JUNOS. It came in two editions:
-Vyatta Core (previously Vyatta Community Edition) that was completely
-free software, and Vyatta Subscription Edition that had proprietary
-features and was only available to paying customers.
-
-Vyatta was acquired by Brocade Communication Systems in 2012. Shortly
-after, Brocade renamed Vyatta Subscription Edition to Brocade vRouter,
-discontinued Vyatta Core and shut down the community forum without a
-notice. The bug tracker and Git repositories followed next year.
-
-It's worth noting that by the time Brocade acquired Vyatta,
-development of Vyatta Core was already stagnated. Vyatta Subscription
-Edition (and thus, Vyatta development as a whole) had been replacing
-core components with proprietary software, meaning few features made
-it to Vyatta Core, and those that did were bug-ridden and hamstrung.
-
-In 2013, soon after Vyatta Core was abandoned, the community forked
-the last Vyatta Core version (6.6R1) and VyOS Project came into being.
-`Sentrium SL <https://blog.vyos.io/sentrium-what-sentrium>`_ was
-established by VyOS maintainers in 2014 to fund VyOS development by
-selling support, consulting services and prebuilt long-term support
-images. The company was later reorganized under the VyOS brand.
-
-Brocade was acquired by Broadcom in 2016 and sold what remains of
-erstwhile Vyatta to AT&T in 2017, who in turn sold it to Ciena in 2021.
+There was a network operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux, called 
+Vyatta. [*]_ Introduced in 2006, it served as a great free-software alternative 
+to proprietary products. Vyatta came in two editions: Vyatta Core 
+(formerly known as Vyatta Community Edition), which was free software, and 
+Vyatta Subscription Edition, which included proprietary features and was 
+available only to paying customers.
+
+Brocade Communications Systems acquired Vyatta in 2012. Shortly after, Brocade
+renamed Vyatta Subscription Edition to Brocade vRouter, discontinued Vyatta 
+Core, and shut down the community forum without notice. The bug tracker and Git 
+repositories were closed the following year.
+
+By the time Brocade acquired Vyatta, the development of Vyatta Core had 
+already stagnated. The focus had shifted to Vyatta Subscription Edition, 
+where core components were replaced with proprietary software. As a result, 
+Vyatta Core received fewer new features, and some of those added faced issues.
+
+In 2013, shortly after Vyatta Core was discontinued, the community forked its 
+final version (6.6R1) to create the VyOS project. In 2014, the maintainers 
+established a company to fund VyOS development through technical support, 
+consulting services, and LTS release access subscriptions. The company was 
+originally named Sentrium and was later reorganized under the VyOS brand.
 
 
 Major releases
 ==============
-
-VyOS major versions used to be named after elements in order of atomic
-numbers. With 1.2, this naming scheme was replaced with the much
-cooler scheme of Latin names of `IAU
-<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAU_designated_constellations_by_area>`_
-designated constellations by solid angle area, starting from the smallest.
+VyOS originally named its major versions after elements by atomic number. 
+Beginning with version 1.2, this naming scheme was changed. It now uses the 
+Latin names of constellations recognized by the International Astronomical 
+Union (`IAU
+<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAU_designated_constellations_by_area>`_), 
+ordered by their solid angle area, beginning with the smallest.
 
 Hydrogen (1.0)
 --------------
 
-Released just in time for holidays on 22 December 2013, Hydrogen was
+Released just in time for the holidays on 22 December 2013, Hydrogen was
 the first major VyOS release. It fixed features that were broken in
-Vyatta Core 6.6 (such as IPv4 BGP peer groups and DHCPv6 relay) and
-introduced command scripting, a task scheduler and web proxy LDAP
+Vyatta Core 6.6, such as IPv4 BGP peer groups and DHCPv6 relay, and
+introduced command scripting, a task scheduler, and web proxy LDAP
 authentication.
 
 Helium (1.1)
 ------------
+Helium, released on 9 October 2014, marked the first anniversary of the 
+VyOS Project. The release introduced an event handler, L2TPv3 support, 
+802.1ad (QinQ), and IGMP proxy, as well as experimental support for VXLAN 
+and DMVPN. Notably, DMVPN remained non-functional in Vyatta Core due to its 
+reliance on a proprietary NHRP implementation.
 
-Helium was released on 9 October 2014, exactly on the day VyOS Project
-first came into being in the previous year. Helium came with a lot of
-new features, including an event handler and support for L2TPv3,
-802.1ad QinQ and IGMP proxy, as well as experimental support for VXLAN
-and DMVPN (the latter of which was also broken in Vyatta Core due to
-its reliance on a proprietary NHRP implementation).
 
 Crux (1.2)
 ----------
+Crux (the Southern Cross) was released on 28 January 2019 and marked a 
+departure from legacy Vyatta codebase and the start of the migration from 
+Perl to Python as the primary language. The underlying base system was 
+upgraded from Debian 6 (Squeeze) to Debian 8 (Jessie).
 
-Crux (the Southern Cross) came out on 28 January 2019 and was the
-first major release of VyOS as we know it today. The underlying
-Debian base was upgraded from Squeeze (6) to Jessie (8).
-
-Although Crux came with too many new features to mention here, some
-noteworthy ones are: an mDNS repeater, a broadcast relay,
-a high-performance PPPoE server, an HFSC scheduler, as well as support
-for Wireguard, unicast VRRP, RPKI for BGP and fully 802.1ad-compliant
-QinQ ethertype. The telnet server and support for P2P filtering were
-removed.
+Crux introduced many new features, some of the most noteworthy are: 
+an mDNS repeater, a broadcast relay, a high-performance PPPoE server, 
+an HFSC scheduler, and support for Wireguard, unicast VRRP, RPKI for BGP, 
+and fully 802.1ad-compliant QinQ ethertype. The telnet server and support 
+for P2P filtering were removed.
 
-Crux is the first version to feature the modular image build system.
-CLI definitions began to be written in the modern, verifiable XML
-templates. Python APIs were introduced for command scripting and
-configuration migration. Introduction of new Perl and shell code was
-proscribed and the rewriting of legacy Perl code in pure Python began
-with Crux.
+Crux was the first VyOS release to feature a modular image build system.
+CLI definitions were written using an XML syntax automatically checked 
+against a schema at build time. Python APIs were introduced for command 
+scripting and configuration migration. New Perl code and old-style (non-XML) 
+command definition were no longer accepted from that point.
 
-Crux reached end of support in 2023..
+Crux reached the end of support in 2023.
 
 Equuleus (1.3)
 --------------
 
-The current long-term support version of VyOS, Equuleus (the Pony)
-came out on 21 December 2021, once again in time for the winter
-holidays.
+Equuleus (the Little Horse) was a long-term support version released 
+on 21 December 2021, just in time for the winter holidays.
 
-Equuleus brought many long-desired features with it, most notably
-an SSTP VPN server, an IPoE server, an OpenConnect VPN server and
-a serial console server, in addition to reworked support for WWAN
-interfaces, support for GENEVE and MACSec interfaces, VRF, IS-IS
-routing, preliminary support for MPLS and LDP, and many other
-initialisms.
+Equuleus brought many long-awaited features, most notably an SSTP VPN 
+server, an IPoE server, an OpenConnect VPN server, and a serial console 
+server. It also introduced reworked support for WWAN interfaces, support 
+for GENEVE and MACSec interfaces, VRF, IS-IS routing, and preliminary support 
+for MPLS and LDP.
 
-Equuleus reached end of support in 2025.
+Equuleus reached the end of support in 2025.
 
 Sagitta (1.4)
 -------------
 
-Sagitta (the Arrow) was released in 2024 and is currently a supported LTS release.
+Sagitta (the Arrow), released in 2024, is currently a supported LTS release.
 
 Circinus (1.5)
 --------------
 
-Circinus (the Compass) is the codename of the upcoming development
-branch, so there's no VyOS 1.5 yet.
+Circinus (the Drawing Compass) is the codename for the upcoming development
+branch. VyOS 1.5 Circinus has not been released yet.
 
 A note on copyright
 ===================
 
-Unlike Vyatta, VyOS never had (nor will ever have) proprietary code.
+Unlike Vyatta, VyOS has never had closed-source code and never will.
 The only proprietary material in VyOS is non-code assets, such as
-graphics and the trademark "VyOS". [*]_ This means you can build your
-own long-term support images (as the entire toolchain we use is free
-software) and even distribute them, given you rename it and remove
-such assets before building. Although note that we do not provide
-support for images distributed by a third-party. See the
+graphics and the trademark "VyOS". [*]_ 
+
+Note that we do not provide support for images distributed by a third party. 
+See the
 `artwork license <https://github.com/vyos/vyos-build/blob/current/LICENSE.artwork>`_
 and the end-user license agreement at ``/usr/share/vyos/EULA`` in
-any pre-built image for more precise information.
+any pre-built image for more information.
 
 
 .. [*] From the Sanskrit adjective "Vyātta" (व्यात्त), meaning opened.
-.. [*] This is not unlike how Linus Torvalds owns the trademark "Linux".
+.. [*] This is similar to how Linus Torvalds owns the Linux trademark.