Re: [Gimp-developer] Getting the recognition that GIMP deserves

[Martin Nordholts <enselic gmail com>]

2011/11/10 Mathew Oakes <mathew oakes memechine org>:
> I hope this is a suitable place to post this.
> 2.8 is shaping up as a great release!
> Opening the 2.7.3 distribution crystallised in my mind, the core problem
> inhibiting greater acceptance of the GIMP.
> The quasi-bestial bondage image on the loading screen is unnecessarily
> disturbing. As a first impression for all new users, the loading screen
> needs to highlight features and benefits of the program and help explain to
> the user what's in it for them.
> The whole gimp/bondage pun might have been worth a chuckle years ago, but
> unfortunately it's not a useful idea for promoting graphic software. The pun
> distracts away from the important message of what the software is and what
> it does -- and confuses it with undesirable perverse behaviour. The confused
> 'brand' becomes is an unnecessary barrier for many people to use the
> software.
> From the perspective of new/naive users:
>
> Is it NSFW? What about a school?
> Why should I treat this software seriously?
>
> To really get the recognition and use that GIMP deserves, it needs to evolve
> its identity.

The splash was replaced a few days ago (with this [1]) and 2.7.4 and
onwards will thus not have a controversial splash. The old splash was
not meant to offend anyone, but since many people by now have raised
concerns regarding it, we should avoid having controversial splashes
in the future. There is no point in being controversial.

Unfortunately there is no easy fix to our controversial name. Changing
the name is a huge undertaking that would have several bad side
effects, like confusion and manpower usage that would be better spent
writing useful code.

 / Martin

[1]: http://git.gnome.org/browse/gimp/plain/data/images/gimp-splash.png?id=5b4db22ae1b3d3c9aa7a91cb64e29e4f1b15ed18


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