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I believe GIMP is the oldest F/OSS app I have used more or less continuously since I first logged into a Linux system decades ago. It's amazing how dedicated t

I believe GIMP is the oldest F/OSS app I have used more or less continuously since I first logged into a Linux system decades ago. It's amazing how dedicated they are after all these years. Hats off to you, people involved with GIMP over the years ... your work has made a huge difference in many lives and careers.

JohnFen 3y ago
Seconded. GIMP kicks serious ass, no matter what version of GTK it uses.
TacticalCoder 3y ago
> I believe GIMP is the oldest F/OSS app I have used more or less continuously since I first logged into a Linux system decades ago. X (Xorg now), xterm, Gimp, Emacs... These guys were there when I started with Linux and I still use them to this day!
idoubtit 3y ago
I stopped using Gimp a few years ago because it made me lose data, and I could not find a way to work safely with Gimp. I was modifying several PNG images. Once I was done, I closed the window. As usual, Gimp warned me that I hadn't saved anything, since it considers that saving to PNG is not saving, it's just exporting. So I ignored the message, like always. It turned out I hadn't saved/exported an image, and I swore to use a saner application and never touch Gimp again.
- doodlesdev 3y ago
  So: - You didn't save your file - You didn't export your file - You ignored GIMP's warning about it And somehow it's the program's fault? I guess they could implement some form of temporary autosave like some office applications do, but that comes with its own can of worms (i.e. stuff you really didn't want to save staying on your drive).
  - idoubtit 3y ago
    You misunderstood. I had several tabs in Gimp, each with an image. I thought I had exported every one (to .png). Gimp told me I hadn't saved any (to .xcf) and Gimp doesn't care about exporting. *I had no way to know if my images were all exported.*
    - prokoudine 3y ago
      > I had no way to know if my images were all exported. You had a way of knowing that though. When GIMP lists all the unsaved images, it specifically says which images have been exported and to what files. It does so by appending "(exported)" to the filename (just like in the window's title when you are editing) and mentioning the exported file in the second line.
    - doodlesdev 3y ago
      Oh that makes more sense. Still, if GIMP had this kind of temp autosave you wouldn't have lost these files since you could've opened the .xcg of the relevant file and then export. Overall the best workflow with these applications is to always save the project file, in GIMP, Photoshop, or Affinity.
- bartvk 3y ago
  That's interesting, so it doesn't expect you to work directly on a PNG?
  - somat 3y ago
    They changed the behavior a number of years back. It used to be you just put what file extension you wanted in the save dialog and gimp would save the that file format. Honestly I likes it, I always thought it was one of saner ways to handle a complex subject. However. the gimp native format is .xcf xcf is the only format that will save all of gimps internal data. due to the ease of loosing data it was decided to split the save system into two parts "save" only saves in xcf format, all other formats are exported. so no, no longer can you just work on a png, gimp will nag you to save to xcf every time, I understand the change but I can't help but think that we lost something along the way. something about tools that stay out of your way and so what you want of them.
simlevesque 3y ago
For me it was Audacity.

JohnFen 3y ago

Seconded. GIMP kicks serious ass, no matter what version of GTK it uses.

TacticalCoder 3y ago

> I believe GIMP is the oldest F/OSS app I have used more or less continuously since I first logged into a Linux system decades ago. X (Xorg now), xterm, Gimp, Emacs... These guys were there when I started with Linux and I still use them to this day!

idoubtit 3y ago

I stopped using Gimp a few years ago because it made me lose data, and I could not find a way to work safely with Gimp. I was modifying several PNG images. Once I was done, I closed the window. As usual, Gimp warned me that I hadn't saved anything, since it considers that saving to PNG is not saving, it's just exporting. So I ignored the message, like always. It turned out I hadn't saved/exported an image, and I swore to use a saner application and never touch Gimp again.

doodlesdev 3y ago
So: - You didn't save your file - You didn't export your file - You ignored GIMP's warning about it And somehow it's the program's fault? I guess they could implement some form of temporary autosave like some office applications do, but that comes with its own can of worms (i.e. stuff you really didn't want to save staying on your drive).
- idoubtit 3y ago
  You misunderstood. I had several tabs in Gimp, each with an image. I thought I had exported every one (to .png). Gimp told me I hadn't saved any (to .xcf) and Gimp doesn't care about exporting. *I had no way to know if my images were all exported.*
  - prokoudine 3y ago
    > I had no way to know if my images were all exported. You had a way of knowing that though. When GIMP lists all the unsaved images, it specifically says which images have been exported and to what files. It does so by appending "(exported)" to the filename (just like in the window's title when you are editing) and mentioning the exported file in the second line.
  - doodlesdev 3y ago
    Oh that makes more sense. Still, if GIMP had this kind of temp autosave you wouldn't have lost these files since you could've opened the .xcg of the relevant file and then export. Overall the best workflow with these applications is to always save the project file, in GIMP, Photoshop, or Affinity.
bartvk 3y ago
That's interesting, so it doesn't expect you to work directly on a PNG?
- somat 3y ago
  They changed the behavior a number of years back. It used to be you just put what file extension you wanted in the save dialog and gimp would save the that file format. Honestly I likes it, I always thought it was one of saner ways to handle a complex subject. However. the gimp native format is .xcf xcf is the only format that will save all of gimps internal data. due to the ease of loosing data it was decided to split the save system into two parts "save" only saves in xcf format, all other formats are exported. so no, no longer can you just work on a png, gimp will nag you to save to xcf every time, I understand the change but I can't help but think that we lost something along the way. something about tools that stay out of your way and so what you want of them.

simlevesque 3y ago

For me it was Audacity.