fixed README.md nits (#1)

- Replaced "checksum covers" with "checksum represents" (less ambiguous)
- Removed extra examples that may be confusing in the first bullet list,
i.e., one can log many more things than checksums of executable binaries.
- Clarified that "something opaque" means a data item of opaque type.

1 files changed, 9 insertions, 10 deletions

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e9a4713..7389acb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 # System Transparency Front-End (STFE)
 STFE is a [Trillian](https://transparency.dev/#trillian)
 [personality](https://github.com/google/trillian/blob/master/docs/Personalities.md)
-that allows you to log signed checksums.  What a checksum covers is up to the
-submitter.  For example, it could be a Firefox update, a Debian package, or a
-document.  A log leaf contains:
-- A _checksum_ that covers something opaque, e.g., an executable binary.
-- An _identifier_ that is tied to what the checksum represents, e.g., name,
-version, and platform.
+that allows you to log signed checksums.  What a checksum represents is up to
+the submitter.  For example, it could be a Firefox update, a Debian package, or
+a document.  A log leaf contains:
+- A _checksum_ that represents a data item of opaque type.
+- An _identifier_ that is tied to what the checksum represents.
 - A _signature_ that covers `checksum` and `identifier` using the submitter's
 secret signing key.
 - A _namespace_ that is tied to the submitter's verification key, e.g., think of
@@ -87,10 +86,10 @@ checksums.  As far as we can tell the log's leaf entry must at minimum indicate:
 2. What opaque data does the checksum _refer to_ such that the log entry can be
 analyzed by monitors.
 
-Additional metadata needs can be included in the data that the checksum covers,
-and the data itself can be stored in a public unauthenticated archive.  Log APIs
-and data formats should also follow the principle of minimal common denominator.
-We are still in the process of analyzing this further.
+Additional metadata needs can be included in the data that the checksum
+represents, and the data itself can be stored in a public unauthenticated
+archive.  Log APIs and data formats should also follow the principle of minimal
+common denominator.  We are still in the process of analyzing this further.
 
 ### Spam and log poisoning
 Trillian personalities usually have an _admission criteria_ that determines who