zabaaaa🌹Mar 20, 2025
Nick @ The Linux Experiment

To be clear: I’m not saying the GIMP name is awesome and should be kept at all costs. It can change.

What I’m saying is: focus on the cool stuff first, praise the devs for their cool work. Don’t turn all the cool stuff into a battle. We can talk about the name AND also think the devs delivered some great stuff.

Firefox is adding excellent features. Sure, the Mozilla stuff sucks, but the browser is great. We can give praise AND also raise issues, not everything needs to be back or white.

Mar 18, 2025 at 11:38amMastodon for iOS
Show threadKuJoe 💞Mar 18, 2025

@thelinuxEXP The "all or nothing" mentality is probably the number one killer of morale in FOSS devs. There are too many people who, if they are not 100% happy about their FOSS application that they downloaded, feel like it's better to be very vocal about the things they hate rather than submit a Pull Request or have a calm discussion.

I'm not saying it's a majority of people, it's probably very small percentage, but those few people tend to be the loudest and the devs hear it. 😩

Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentMar 18, 2025
@KuJoe Yeah, it's normal to raise issues and problems. I do it all the time on my videos, and I can be very critical. But we really need to stop turning any good thing into a "yes but there's also this bad thing so all efforts are wasted".
Show threadKuJoe 💞Mar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP Agreed! It's that "Yes, but" part that stings. Like you said, just because you don't like the name doesn't mean the software is bad and just because you don't like the company doesn't mean the software is bad. You can look at things independently of each other and both opinions can be true. I feel like people go and paint an entire app with a broad brush instead of looking at the fine details.
Show threadBloodaxeMar 18, 2025

@thelinuxEXP
@KuJoe

The FOSS space is a very ideologically driven space, and I would say this is the unfortunate side effect of this 😵‍💫

I hope we as a community can strive towards leading a calm and collected debate culture in our circles 👍🏻

Show threadNiceMicroMar 18, 2025

@thelinuxEXP I suggest to change the name of the Gimp project to...

GIMP Image Manipulation Program

...to truly ascend to the recursive acronym land.

Show threadLeminskiMar 18, 2025

@thelinuxEXP Why not rename it to the PHoto Enhancement Manipulation Bitmap fOr You?

Yah know, PHEMBOY.
/jk

Show threadGreen Pants Black ShirtMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP How dare you bring nuance to the internet sir! 😆
Show threadNachiket VartakMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP No Nick, the browser is NOT great. It lacks in almost every aspect about being a browser, mostly because the managing entity was asleep at the wheel for 10 years. It may be ‘good enough’ but it is certainly worse than the competition as a browser. The only advantage it had was that it was not overtly anti-privacy like the other browsers. If that goes away, the browser is dead.
Show threadPatrick H. LaukeMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP what rubs people the wrong way is how loudly and obstinately the devs have dug their heels in with the "no, we won't ever change the name". for all other cool stuff they may deliver, that just sets the tone...
Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentMar 18, 2025
@patrick_h_lauke I totally get that. It is an issue, but it doesn’t negate the excellent work that’s being done :)
Show threadNachiket VartakMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP And that goes for GIMP too. Ask some people who are actually in the business for why GIMP is so horrible in its UX and why it lacks industry standard feature sets. Ask them why they pay through the nose for Photoshop or why Affinity is still profitable when GIMP is for free. GIMP is once again like a lot of OSS ‘good enough’. It is not great. And it is most noticeable if you have used great software already.
Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentMar 18, 2025

@vartak I mean, that’s your opinion, and I totally disagree with it, for GIMP and Firefox. They’re fantastic tools that do what they should do, and do it well.

They’re not perfect, no software is, but they’re really good.

Show threadNachiket VartakMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP Of course, everything is an opinion. Except user numbers and performance metrics. They tell the story.
Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentMar 18, 2025
@vartak If user numbers were a reliable indication, desktop Linux would have stopped receiving any contributions decades ago. And still, it’s arguably not only faster, more feature packed, and better designed than proprietary alternatives.
Show threadNachiket VartakMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP Fair enough. But we both know that desktop Linux survives because it is the absolute best for servers - thereby garnering the support of multi-million dollar corporations. It is a case where the software was not just OSS, it was decidedly superior to the competition (IIS, anyone?). Firefox when it was Phoenix 0.5 in 2003.In 2025, absolutely not. I’d recommend going through the comments on Slashdot: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/03/17/1948219/gimp-30-released about GIMP.
GIMP 3.0 Released - Slashdot

GIMP 3.0 has been released after over a decade of development. Highlights include a refined GTK3 interface with scroll wheel tab navigation, a new splash screen, improved HiDPI icon support, enhanced color management, a stable public API, and support for more file formats. 9to5Linux reports: GIMP 3...

Show threadFellMar 19, 2025
@vartak @thelinuxEXP
Show threadauserMar 18, 2025
@vartak @thelinuxEXP The story of monopolies, imperfect information and market concentration.
Show threadNachiket VartakMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP I propose confirmation bias - ‘it does the specific things I need it to do well, therefore it is a good in general’. It isn’t. Count the things the other software does and how well to get the general picture. Otherwise, it’s just good enough for you. Right?
Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentMar 18, 2025
@vartak The number of features has no bearing on the quality, though?
Look online, there are plenty of pros using GIMP for photo editing ;)
Show threadNachiket VartakMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP "The noo yo over of features has no bearing on the quality, though?" - Why not? It's not the only metric of course but it is a very significant one. "Tabs" were a feature. How would you like to use a browser that has no tabs in 2025?
Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentMar 18, 2025

@vartak You’re talking about the extremely basic features, which I don’t think GIMP lacks here, or Firefox lacks. We’re not talking « this thing doesn’t do AI powered content aware removal and fill ». This would be layers, in the realm of graphics programs…

You can have 50% less features and still be excellent for your use case? You seem to think everyone says GIMP is competing with Photoshop, but that’s not the goal?

Show threadNachiket VartakMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP Agreed. I was assuming GIMP is being pushed as a Photoshop competitor. Hence the comparison. Anything can be specifically good for your use case, I thought the question is if it is the better/worse in its class? Here I have to say that running Firefox and Chrome/Vivaldi side by side on Fedora - it is absolutely plain to me that Chromium has better performance.
Show threadauserMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP @vartak Also many users don't use all of the features. In Adobe there's a lot of bloat.
Show threadNachiket VartakMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP To be clear: I think it is is incredible that OSS produces software that is good enough for a large number of people. But it is a tad annoying when these people pretend like these things are at the current stage anywhere a competition for the pro stuff. There is only one exception - Resolve (which isn’t OSS but Linux folks don’t seem to mind it)
Show threadauserMar 18, 2025
@vartak @thelinuxEXP There's a lot of FOSS that's used professionally but it doesn't gets the recognition. First example is no other than the Linux kernel.
Show threadjohnteachestechMar 18, 2025

@thelinuxEXP

It's too bad this needs to be said, it should be common sense.

Thank you for helping to keep the FOSS space grounded.

Show threadMorten Juhl-JohansenMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP Yes. Thank you.
Show threadDreams of ReedMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP If people were truly upset about Gimp's name, a renamed fork would've suceeded them YEARS ago. Anything else is nothing more than grandstanding.
Show threadSpacewizard! (Ed H)Mar 18, 2025

@thelinuxEXP "We've found this great new software, it can do the job of expensive proprietary software and it's totally free and open source!"

"That's awesome, what's it called?"

"Retard!"

"Uh, no."

"But wait, that word isn't just a slur! It is also a verb which can mean 'slow things down'! Everybody'll have a great time with Retard! Wait till I show you how to set up a `tardfile`!"

"Please never talk to me again."

Show threadSpacewizard! (Ed H)Mar 18, 2025

@thelinuxEXP "wait! Wait! We have a cute cartoon mascot called 'Philbert the Retard'! People who are not native English speakers *love* the English name for this software developed by English speakers! That proves it's not a problem!"

"Get out of my office or I'm calling the police."

Show threadNorodixMar 18, 2025
@spacewizard @thelinuxEXP Would you say the pcb material FR4 is a bad name just because you can make a connection to a slur if you want to?
Show threadJay Grant 🏳️‍⚧️Mar 18, 2025

@thelinuxEXP absolutely not

gimp is a slur, it's a slur against disabled people

a dev who decided to work on the New Image Generator Going Extremely ... well, you see what this one would be. They would be the subject of derision, as well they should be

Why do disabled people get told "no sorry, not good enough" by you ableds?

Any developer working on Gnu Image Manipulation Project should be derided for choosing to be so transparently bigoted

and shame on you too

Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentMar 18, 2025

@mxjaygrant That’s… not at all what I’m saying, but I guess reading between the lines is easier than actually reading what I wrote and meant?

Also, why do you assume I’m « abled » ?

Show threadweedMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP it’s been more than 20 years, when do we finally get to focus on the bigotry?
Show threadAleksandr ProkudinMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP As a former GIMP team member, all I can say is that the only project that attempted to fix the problematic name (Glimpse) failed at its one job. After so many claims that a good name would attract tons of developers, the fork couldn't even get a committed maintainer who would reapply a rebranding patchset. Meanwhile, a single GIMP contributor lately has a soft fork named "Artbox" and seems to have no problem maintaining the rebranding. How can one possibly fathom this? :)
Show threadBenVBMar 18, 2025
@thelinuxEXP
Didn't you know? On the Internet, nuance isn't allowed.
Show threadNick @ The Linux ExperimentMar 18, 2025
@Ben Yeah, I didn’t remember why I stopped posting on any social network apart from publishing videos. I remember now.
No matter if it’s Twitter or Mastodon, people don’t read what you wrote, they try really hard to read between the lines, and twist the meaning of every word you use to fit their world view, or the first emotion they felt when reading your words. That’ll teach me, I’m not posting here anymore for a while.
Show threadStephen Brooks 🦆Mar 19, 2025
@thelinuxEXP Only way to stop faux-controversies is to not mention them at all.