[Gimp-developer] GIMP development- What's the point?

From: C R <cajhne gmail com>

To: gimp-developer <gimp-developer-list gnome org>

Subject: [Gimp-developer] GIMP development- What's the point?

Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2016 12:19:54 +0100

I run a London Linux Meet, where a bunch of Linux and open source folks have drinks and discuss Linux, and free software. At the last meet I was showing off GIMP, as I often do when asked "what do you do?" There's the usual ooohing and ahhing as I show what GIMP allows me to do easily as a designer. This time, I got a strange comment from a new visitor to our group. He said "GIMP development? What's the point of that?" in a rather sarcastic tone. In such cases I have to push down my annoyance with the tone and answer the question properly, because I know such comments usually come from one of two places: a) User has tried GIMP, but didn't take time to learn enough to get past things that aren't obvious. b) User has heard that GIMP is hard to use, and is not an adequate tool for professionals. Both of these point of views are skewed, but I find all it takes is a short walk-through and sometimes question answering about how to do what they want. Most people just want a show, though. Someone to prove to them that their preconceptions of GIMP are incorrect, or at least incomplete. In this case, I opted to give the fireworks/show. My weapons of choice this time included the unified transform tool, the handle-transform tool, and the warp transform tool- "Without development, we (designers/users) would not have these new features, which will be released in the next version, and are available now via the gimp-edge repo." I love the change in expression. You can SEE the change from the sceptical arm-foldedness, to hands-on hips, or chin-scratching that indicated not only a change in perspective, but also imagining the possibilities. "Without dedicated people constantly working to improve GIMP, we would not have any of this, and nothing to look forward to. It's an incredible gift, and allows us to work with complete freedom. It's there for the taking, for the enjoyment of everyone. All one has to do is reach for it with patience that is necessary for learning (any) complex and extremely powerful graphics application." I just wanted to again say thanks, and relay that even on days where it seems no one has anything good to say about GIMP, you've got fans who genuinely appreciate the work you do, and believe in what GIMP is, and enjoy what it will become in the future with your tremendous efforts. You're presently causing ooohs and ahhhs, in London. :) The question: "What's the point?" is a curious one. As a developer in the project, what are your reasons for working on GIMP? What are your motivations? What do you enjoy most about it? -C