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As usual, whenever GIMP is involved, all we get are negative, often unfounded comments about an excellent piece of free software that is massively used and deve

As usual, whenever GIMP is involved, all we get are negative, often unfounded comments about an excellent piece of free software that is massively used and developed with very limited resources, doing its job really well. There’s something so pleasant about having GIMP around, efficient and so far removed from the disgusting greed that drives so many of the projects featured here.

herrherrmann 2mo ago
… and the sizes of their updates are usually impressive! Seems to be a big project that is managed well to keep a good pace and keep the community in the loop. (Although I don’t know much about their inner workings.)
lukan 2mo ago
Do you have your special dark mode glasses on? Because I fail to see all the comments here as negative and unfounded. (and my guess why there is often negativity towards GIMP, is because it was too often advertised as a adequate Photoshop replacement, which it is not, so people got disappointed with it)
unpopularopp 2mo ago
I’m going to take the bait: I know a lot of people don't like that but sometimes I feel that FOSS projects are intentionally sabotaging themselves by ignoring industry standard options/conventions and instead they are following open source ideas just to be different. GIMP is the perfect example of that and generally speaking UI/UX is the main symptom. Blender was able to move forward by not listening to the FOSS crowd but to the industry. And see where are they now compared to GIMP.
- ChrisGreenHeur 2mo ago
  important here to remember that Blender was created within the industry as a commercial tool. When open sourced the leader of the project remained and knew quite well what separated a good creative tool from a bad one. It was always situated in a position where the core users were either hobbyists or professionals. Gimp was never in such a situation. Culture is important.
  - berkes 2mo ago
    > Culture is important Which brings us back to why so many people dislike Gimp, and/or see it as a posterchild example of bad FOSS alternatives. I agree, and Culture IS important. And I think the culture around many Open Source "Alternatives" is harming themselves and the overall FOSS community. From Mastodon via Gimp to Nextcloud.
- bulgur999 2mo ago
  So GIMP has a larger user base than Blender, what is your point ?
  - graemep 2mo ago
    Blender is something routinely recommend by normies. Gimp is not. Blender is a very popular, maybe the most popular, for the tasks its used for. Gimp is not.
  - rplnt 2mo ago
    Market share might be more relevant when we're comparing products with different market sizes.
  - Gualdrapo 2mo ago
    I don't know what it has to do with anything - GIMP has been around for a while and has been the de facto FOSS alternative for photoshop for so long. That doesn't make that several of its UX and UI decisions are at least questionable nor make that comment you're replying any less true. Not to mention the fact that if you ever mention in any way that GIMP's UX/UI could be better to anyone of its veteran devs they would turn weirdly ultra defensive and take everything personal.
- graemep 2mo ago
  Even the name is self sabotage.
  - BlackRing 2mo ago
    It's a clever name. What's your beef with it?
    - johannes1234321 2mo ago
      It's a term often interpreted as derogatory for a group of people. (Disabled people)
      - ShadowOfThePit 2mo ago
        What? How? GIMP is just some latex thing, what does it have to do with disabled people?
        em-bee 2mo ago
        you haven't heard about it because it's no longer commonly used (for good reason), but it's there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimp#Other_uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimp#Other_uses
        BlackRing 2mo ago
        If it's no longer (commonly) used, then the project has outlasted the name's so-called derogatory status and should be free from concern.
        em-bee 2mo ago
        that would ideally be true, but it takes a lifetime for that to happen. (basically until all people who have experienced gimp as an insult are no longer alive)
    - 2mo ago
rimliu 2mo ago
Yes, it is very pleasant to have it around. Especially when you switch to something else.
dm319 2mo ago
It's a great piece of software. Best feature - not having your colours retrospectively removed from your project [1]. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/rdtodb/adobe_to_remove_pantone_colors_from_creative_cloud/ https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/rdtodb/adob...
- dist-epoch 2mo ago
  Photoshop is removing something that GIMP doesn't even have - PANTONE colors.
  - account42 2mo ago
    Not adding format features that you are not willing/able to maintain in perpetuity is a positive, yes.
  - cmyk_student 2mo ago
    We added import support for most Photoshop palette formats (ACB, ACO, ASE), so you can use them in GIMP. I don't think we can directly include Pantone palettes in the install because of copyright issues, but if you already have them, they should work fine in GIMP (and if not, let us know so we can fix it!)
igleria 2mo ago
I love that GIMP exists but... I have to say, it never got rid of the "backend developer doing frontend" feeling, and I've been aware of Gimp for 20 years now (did not know how to...ehem, run photoshop in my teens)
phendrenad2 2mo ago
Furthermore, it's free software. If people have a problem with it, they're free to show up and contribute, or fork if the community is really opposed to their ideas (they probably are for good reason, though).
- MrVandemar 2mo ago
  I can guarantee that anyone turning up and contributing or forking this project will not lead to the outcome of a improved piece of software. It will lead to someone with the insight on how to make actual material improvements frustrated and angry that they don't have the technical skill (or time) to grapple with a complex codebase, and the people with the technical skill working on the codebase dismiss people with actual knowledge in different domains. "Patches welcome" is not any kind of welcome. It's basically a euphemism for "fuck off, I don't want to have a conversation to make something better, I just want to hack on Feature X".
  - ChocolateGod 2mo ago
    > "Patches welcome" is not any kind of welcome. It's basically a euphemism for "fuck off Yeh, this line is very common in that project that rhymes with chrome. Meanwhile contributed features get stuck at "needs design team" for years.
  - account42 2mo ago
    So basically you want subordinates who work for you for free.
    - MrVandemar 2mo ago
      This is an extraordinary and unsubstantiated claim, and in no way resembles anything I said, nor anything I want. Development to improve software should be a conversation between skilled and knowledgeable workers across many domains. Without that, you don't get improvement, you get feature creep. "Patches welcome" is a conversation killer.

herrherrmann 2mo ago

… and the sizes of their updates are usually impressive! Seems to be a big project that is managed well to keep a good pace and keep the community in the loop. (Although I don’t know much about their inner workings.)

lukan 2mo ago

Do you have your special dark mode glasses on? Because I fail to see all the comments here as negative and unfounded. (and my guess why there is often negativity towards GIMP, is because it was too often advertised as a adequate Photoshop replacement, which it is not, so people got disappointed with it)

unpopularopp 2mo ago

I’m going to take the bait: I know a lot of people don't like that but sometimes I feel that FOSS projects are intentionally sabotaging themselves by ignoring industry standard options/conventions and instead they are following open source ideas just to be different. GIMP is the perfect example of that and generally speaking UI/UX is the main symptom. Blender was able to move forward by not listening to the FOSS crowd but to the industry. And see where are they now compared to GIMP.

ChrisGreenHeur 2mo ago
important here to remember that Blender was created within the industry as a commercial tool. When open sourced the leader of the project remained and knew quite well what separated a good creative tool from a bad one. It was always situated in a position where the core users were either hobbyists or professionals. Gimp was never in such a situation. Culture is important.
- berkes 2mo ago
  > Culture is important Which brings us back to why so many people dislike Gimp, and/or see it as a posterchild example of bad FOSS alternatives. I agree, and Culture IS important. And I think the culture around many Open Source "Alternatives" is harming themselves and the overall FOSS community. From Mastodon via Gimp to Nextcloud.
bulgur999 2mo ago
So GIMP has a larger user base than Blender, what is your point ?
- graemep 2mo ago
  Blender is something routinely recommend by normies. Gimp is not. Blender is a very popular, maybe the most popular, for the tasks its used for. Gimp is not.
- rplnt 2mo ago
  Market share might be more relevant when we're comparing products with different market sizes.
- Gualdrapo 2mo ago
  I don't know what it has to do with anything - GIMP has been around for a while and has been the de facto FOSS alternative for photoshop for so long. That doesn't make that several of its UX and UI decisions are at least questionable nor make that comment you're replying any less true. Not to mention the fact that if you ever mention in any way that GIMP's UX/UI could be better to anyone of its veteran devs they would turn weirdly ultra defensive and take everything personal.
graemep 2mo ago
Even the name is self sabotage.
- BlackRing 2mo ago
  It's a clever name. What's your beef with it?
  - johannes1234321 2mo ago
    It's a term often interpreted as derogatory for a group of people. (Disabled people)
    - ShadowOfThePit 2mo ago
      What? How? GIMP is just some latex thing, what does it have to do with disabled people?
      - em-bee 2mo ago
        you haven't heard about it because it's no longer commonly used (for good reason), but it's there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimp#Other_uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimp#Other_uses
        BlackRing 2mo ago
        If it's no longer (commonly) used, then the project has outlasted the name's so-called derogatory status and should be free from concern.
        em-bee 2mo ago
        that would ideally be true, but it takes a lifetime for that to happen. (basically until all people who have experienced gimp as an insult are no longer alive)
  - 2mo ago

rimliu 2mo ago

Yes, it is very pleasant to have it around. Especially when you switch to something else.

dm319 2mo ago

It's a great piece of software. Best feature - not having your colours retrospectively removed from your project [1]. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/rdtodb/adobe_to_remove_pantone_colors_from_creative_cloud/ https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/rdtodb/adob...

dist-epoch 2mo ago
Photoshop is removing something that GIMP doesn't even have - PANTONE colors.
- account42 2mo ago
  Not adding format features that you are not willing/able to maintain in perpetuity is a positive, yes.
- cmyk_student 2mo ago
  We added import support for most Photoshop palette formats (ACB, ACO, ASE), so you can use them in GIMP. I don't think we can directly include Pantone palettes in the install because of copyright issues, but if you already have them, they should work fine in GIMP (and if not, let us know so we can fix it!)

igleria 2mo ago

I love that GIMP exists but... I have to say, it never got rid of the "backend developer doing frontend" feeling, and I've been aware of Gimp for 20 years now (did not know how to...ehem, run photoshop in my teens)

phendrenad2 2mo ago

Furthermore, it's free software. If people have a problem with it, they're free to show up and contribute, or fork if the community is really opposed to their ideas (they probably are for good reason, though).

MrVandemar 2mo ago
I can guarantee that anyone turning up and contributing or forking this project will not lead to the outcome of a improved piece of software. It will lead to someone with the insight on how to make actual material improvements frustrated and angry that they don't have the technical skill (or time) to grapple with a complex codebase, and the people with the technical skill working on the codebase dismiss people with actual knowledge in different domains. "Patches welcome" is not any kind of welcome. It's basically a euphemism for "fuck off, I don't want to have a conversation to make something better, I just want to hack on Feature X".
- ChocolateGod 2mo ago
  > "Patches welcome" is not any kind of welcome. It's basically a euphemism for "fuck off Yeh, this line is very common in that project that rhymes with chrome. Meanwhile contributed features get stuck at "needs design team" for years.
- account42 2mo ago
  So basically you want subordinates who work for you for free.
  - MrVandemar 2mo ago
    This is an extraordinary and unsubstantiated claim, and in no way resembles anything I said, nor anything I want. Development to improve software should be a conversation between skilled and knowledgeable workers across many domains. Without that, you don't get improvement, you get feature creep. "Patches welcome" is a conversation killer.