Comment 11 for bug 386900

Here is a list of what I think would work well and create a consistent, easily-understood interface.

Wired connection (default settings):
Wired network
Connected

Wired connection ("Show Wired Connection Names in Notices" enabled):
Wired network
Connected to [connection name]

Wireless connection:
Wireless network
Connected to [SSID]

There are a few things going on here that I will address individually.

The main focus I went for with my samples was consistency. Rather than using the SSID of the connection as the heading for wireless status messages, "Wireless network" is used to keep consistency with the use of "Wired network". In addition, "Connection Established" is replaced with a simple "Connected" as that can stay consistent with "Connected to [connection name]". Using "Connected" in place of "Connection Established" also keeps consistency with the "Disconnected" message that currently exists.

In the Network Connections manager below the Wired connections list, a checkbox is added with the label of "Show Wired Connection Names in Notices". By default, this checkbox is not checked. When this option is not checked, a simple "Connected" message will be shown for the wired connection. When this option is checked, the Connection Name is appended to the connected/disconnected message. For example, "Connected to Home Network" and "Disconnected from Home Network".

Notice that I do have a break in consistency with the use of the SSID in the message body for wireless connections rather than the Connection Name. This is due to the fact that it is possible to encounter different networks that have the same SSID. Showing the Connection Name that may differentiate from the SSID and may have been set up by someone else would cause confusion. Thus, I believe a break of consistency will enhance understanding rather than complicate it.

The default Connection Names need to be changed. I suggest that the "Auto" portion is dropped entirely since it is redundant and not that informative. For wired connections that have only one interface, "Local Connection" can be used in place of "eth0". For wired connections that have multiple connections "Local Connection #1", "Local Connection #2", etc can be used.

In order to still provide information about which interface is being used (eth0, eth1, etc), an additional entry inside the Wired tab of the Edit dialog for wired connections could list which interface is being used. This way the information is still readily available, but isn't constantly being shown in a way that would confuse the user.