Wait. There has never been any confusion with the Chrome vertical three dot menu button in the upper right of my browser.
That is because after pushing the three dots, the menu is obviously either open or closed.
So the problem is one cannot tell if the three bars are associated with the sidebar, etc…
And double bummer is they even coyly slide around after one mistakenly presses it. Meaning one has to chase it around with the mouse to press it again. At least on Desktop.
Just like chasing around a barnyard chicken that knows its days are (hopefully) numbered.