6 ms·

In retrospect it was probably a mistake to choose a name which is either a niche aspect of the BDSM lifestyle or an ableist pejorative. That it was deliberate i

In retrospect it was probably a mistake to choose a name which is either a niche aspect of the BDSM lifestyle or an ableist pejorative. That it was deliberate is even more baffling.

h2odragon 6y ago
It's perfect. It's a funky little tool you only take out of the box when you need it for a specific purpose. You use it (with vigor and some cussing because it fights back); get your job done, and shove it back into the box of shame, until the next time you need it. You might love what it does for you but you rarely celebrate the tool itself, preferring instead to delight in the faint tinge of shame. "GIMP" is the perfect name for this software.
- user-the-name 6y ago
  It is also something you call disabled people when you want to be really insulting. It doesn't matter one bit that you didn't mean it to mean that, that meaning still exists, and it's still what people see when they see the name. It is an absolutely awful name.
  - h2odragon 6y ago
    > It doesn't matter one bit that you didn't mean it to mean that If that's the case, the offense exists totally in another no matter my actions... is it not something that other needs address, not society or myself? If you want to take things that way; why can't the GIMP be a beacon of hope and inspiration for the disabled? Despite being crippled by the UI it still serves legions well and faithfully.
    - user-the-name 6y ago
      Because no part of it presents itself that way. All it does is take a slur and use it as the name, and make no further comment on it whatsoever.
  - will4274 6y ago
    > It is also something you call disabled people when you want to be really insulting Is it? I know some folks will point to a dictionary, but we live in a post truth world. It's odd to me that I've seemingly encountered every other usage of gimp, either personally or in media, but never an offensive usage. A horse with a gimp leg in the wheel of time, gimp the string at summer camp arts and crafts, a gimp suit in the tv show Archer, and gimp the image editing program as a teen. Language fundamentally means what we think it means - if nobody uses gimp as an offensive word, it's not offensive. Have you ever heard it used offensively? If personally so, can I ask where (what county / cultural context)? If in media, can you name the work?
    - gilrain 6y ago
      Yes. In person, referring to someone with a limp. They were implying that said person would be unable to attend a hike (they were wrong).

In retrospect it was probably a mistake to choose a name which is either a niche aspect of the BDSM lifestyle or an ableist pejorative. That it was deliberate is even more baffling.

h2odragon 6y ago

It's perfect. It's a funky little tool you only take out of the box when you need it for a specific purpose. You use it (with vigor and some cussing because it fights back); get your job done, and shove it back into the box of shame, until the next time you need it. You might love what it does for you but you rarely celebrate the tool itself, preferring instead to delight in the faint tinge of shame. "GIMP" is the perfect name for this software.

user-the-name 6y ago
It is also something you call disabled people when you want to be really insulting. It doesn't matter one bit that you didn't mean it to mean that, that meaning still exists, and it's still what people see when they see the name. It is an absolutely awful name.
- h2odragon 6y ago
  > It doesn't matter one bit that you didn't mean it to mean that If that's the case, the offense exists totally in another no matter my actions... is it not something that other needs address, not society or myself? If you want to take things that way; why can't the GIMP be a beacon of hope and inspiration for the disabled? Despite being crippled by the UI it still serves legions well and faithfully.
  - user-the-name 6y ago
    Because no part of it presents itself that way. All it does is take a slur and use it as the name, and make no further comment on it whatsoever.
- will4274 6y ago
  > It is also something you call disabled people when you want to be really insulting Is it? I know some folks will point to a dictionary, but we live in a post truth world. It's odd to me that I've seemingly encountered every other usage of gimp, either personally or in media, but never an offensive usage. A horse with a gimp leg in the wheel of time, gimp the string at summer camp arts and crafts, a gimp suit in the tv show Archer, and gimp the image editing program as a teen. Language fundamentally means what we think it means - if nobody uses gimp as an offensive word, it's not offensive. Have you ever heard it used offensively? If personally so, can I ask where (what county / cultural context)? If in media, can you name the work?
  - gilrain 6y ago
    Yes. In person, referring to someone with a limp. They were implying that said person would be unable to attend a hike (they were wrong).