3 ms·
Genuine and serious praise for not insisting on sticking with an absurdly embarassing and arguably problematic name that would be likely to hamper adoption for
by jrm4 4y ago
Genuine and serious praise for not insisting on sticking with an absurdly embarassing and arguably problematic name that would be likely to hamper adoption for quite some time, unlike a certain other free and open source painting program.
- blauditore 4y agoDo you mean Gimp? I don't think that's so relevant. Did Git suffer from the same problem?
- torstenvl 4y agoThe Web is an imperfect corpus, but "git" is less commonly used as an insult. Even once you git rid of all the software references with "git -software -version -torvalds -branch -commit -github -repo -repository" your primary definitions are as a synonym for "get," e.g., the top result is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git! Compare to "gimp -image -org" where the top result is not only an insult, but an ableist one that would instantly land you a trip to HR.
- colonwqbang 4y agoI guess both are meant to be a kind of joke, calling your software a bad name in jest. But I think the joke works much better in the case of "git". Depending on what you read into it, calling someone a "gimp" is really quite offensive. git: A silly, incompetent, stupid or annoying person (usually a man). gimp: A person who is lame due to a crippling of the legs or feet.
- chungy 4y agoGIMP was so named without an awareness that it coincided with pejorative. It wasn't an intentional joke.
- egypturnash 4y agoThe acronym was coined first, with the letter G being added to -IMP as a reference to "the gimp" in the scene from the 1994 Pulp Fiction film.[8] - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP#History
- chungy 4y agoThe movie in question doesn't even make the pejorative version of the word clear. The best you could come out of it is some weird fetish thing.
- egypturnash 4y agoI am an artist who is quite happy for part of her living to be "drawing porn" and I find "The GIMP", considered solely as a word for "a weird fetish thing", to be a singularly tacky name.
- jrm4 4y agoSure, but let me be clear, I don't think that matters at all. Again, I'm pretty sure the reason I always get downvoted to hell on this one is because people think I'm being "the thought police" or something. And I suppose it's kind of like that but not really? Yes, personally, I do argue slightly against the name, but honestly, I lose no sleep on it on a personal level. What bothers me the most is that GIMP feels like a huge missed opportunity. As in -- let's say for sake of argument that the creators are strongly attached to the name, I don't know, even if it was named after Richard S. Gimp and you wanted to honor him, so you have a theoretically "bulletproof" reason. On balance, it still AINT WORTH IT. You guys had a SERIOUS shot of eating Adobe's lunch and strongly spreading a much better way to do picture editing, but you screwed it up by staying inside your own bubble. The name was just NOT WORTH KEEPING.
- Adj_and_Styles 4y agoDoes GIMP have a bigger market share in non-English speaking places? Because if it does, then maybe the name is to be blamed. But if usage is similar everywhere, the name does not seem to matter much, or at all, for the (lack of) success.
- teddyh 4y agoThe name means “Chalk”, and has the same root as “Cretaceous” (the geological period).
- tekla 4y agoWhat is absurd and problematic about GIMP?
- Vrondi 4y agoOff the top of my head: the word "gimped" is similar in meaning to "handicapped", and if someone "is a gimp", then that could be considered similar to saying someone "is a cripple". Although I have no clue what any of that has to do with Krita.
- PrimeMcFly 4y agoHow is Gimp any different from Nintendo using 'Wii'?
- jrm4 4y agoDoes "Wii" have some possibly 'offensive' meaning I'm unaware of?
- PrimeMcFly 4y agoIt's slang for urination and sometimes, slightly less frequently, a penis. Tends to be used more by children.
- jrm4 4y agoOh, very different then. The Wii is quite literally also used more by children. GIMP is professional quality software, and no one will believe it because of the name.
- DoItToMe81 4y agoGIMP's name is great. Had it chosen any other, it would not have stuck in my mind for almost twenty years. The "Ummm akshyually GIMP is an evil slur" crowd is the same as the "Blacklist LITERALLY murders blacks with racism" crowd, so I see very little reason to take it seriously.
- jrm4 4y agoAgain, wrong -- I'm addressing a different crowd here. As a black person, I'm mostly with you on e.g. blacklist. I'm thinking about "people in the middle who might pick this up." It's not that it's offensive and hurtful and protecting feelings and whatnot and that's the primary problem. It's that "possibly offensive" here equates to "incredibly unprofessional." GIMP is professional quality software and a LOT OF PEOPLE WONT BELIEVE THAT owing to the name. A decent analogy is if it were called Poopy Edit or something like that.