<![CDATA[Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name.]]>Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name.

GIMP is nominative determinism applied to open source. If Fedora was named FUCKBOI, it would have failed too.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/ebf149f2-82a4-438f-8281-2c7ecf913132/hot-take-of-the-day-we-could-have-stopped-adobe-ages-ago-if-gimp-had-any-other-name.RSS for NodeFri, 15 May 2026 04:15:27 GMTFri, 24 Apr 2026 16:39:22 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:19:34 GMT]]>@intrepidhero i think the existence of GIMP chilled the image editing open source environment enough that alternate projects struggled too.

By the time people gave up on it, open source was far behind and the market was consolidated.

imo.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460825766118032https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460825766118032Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:19:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:17:01 GMT]]>@Craigp

I agree they should have renamed GnuIMP a long time ago.

But counter example, did inkscape eat a meaningful percentage of illustrator's market share?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://vmst.io/users/intrepidhero/statuses/116460815721636549https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://vmst.io/users/intrepidhero/statuses/116460815721636549Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:17:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:16:22 GMT]]>It appears this really was the hot take of the day. Stick around for long threads on boring shit.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460813221849371https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460813221849371Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:16:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:13:10 GMT]]>@beaiouns @luxliquida ibuse Krita for painting! I haven't tried editing photos.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460800628742056https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460800628742056Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:13:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:12:43 GMT]]>@u0421793 IMO, yes, BECAUSE people refused to contribute to a project with that name.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460798838465224https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460798838465224Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:12:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:11:45 GMT]]>@Craigp Yeah, I agree with that. I don't think it would have put it in a position to take out Adobe, but it would almost certainly be in a better position than it's in.

And of course the name is symptomatic of a bigger, more general problem, of projects being led by overgrown teenage boys who retreat into a defensive "can't you take a joke?" posture when someone tells them they're putting people off.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://brontosin.space/users/Thad/statuses/116460795068084160https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://brontosin.space/users/Thad/statuses/116460795068084160Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:11:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:11:43 GMT]]>@waltertross sure, but the english as a first language world drove a lot of open source contributions and art program usage, and that's my point.

It stagnates because a big chunk of their userbase and potential contributors didn't want to see the name, even if others didn't care.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460794918854364https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460794918854364Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:11:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:10:38 GMT]]>@Craigp uhm... I don't think the name did as much as the messy user interface...
manjaro in italian sounds silly/funny, but it's overtaking ubuntu and fedora nonetheless

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.bida.im/users/zabow/statuses/116460790665597315https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.bida.im/users/zabow/statuses/116460790665597315Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:10:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:09:17 GMT]]>@Craigp using gimp is in itself an act of masochism so dark i wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, so maybe that is more of an issue than the naming scheme …

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/telepyleia/statuses/116460785361824827https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/telepyleia/statuses/116460785361824827Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:09:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:07:57 GMT]]>@woozle @Craigp Oop, there's the harassment pitchforks over yonder. 😬

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://noavailabledisk.space/users/jo/statuses/01KQ07CS6WYCXZ4GYRQZWHQ277https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://noavailabledisk.space/users/jo/statuses/01KQ07CS6WYCXZ4GYRQZWHQ277Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:07:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:07:50 GMT]]>@Craigp @eniko I
Uh
Would totally
Run
FUCKBOI Linux
And uh
Would also never shut up about it.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hactivedirectory.com/users/josh/statuses/116460779603674385https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hactivedirectory.com/users/josh/statuses/116460779603674385Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:07:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:07:37 GMT]]>@Thad i think a better name would have brought more faces and a more lively current to the project. Stagnation breeds mosquitos.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460778773374939https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460778773374939Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:07:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:06:52 GMT]]>@Craigp

Personally, I'm now very interested in the FUCKBOI software you mentioned 🤔

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://dice.camp/users/johnzajac/statuses/116460775852138540https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://dice.camp/users/johnzajac/statuses/116460775852138540Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:06:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:05:45 GMT]]>@luxliquida @Craigp maybe Krita would be good for photo editing? I pretty much only use it for MS Paint style stuff, but that's what I was using gimp for too. Both have a lot of buttons that I haven't learned about yet

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://is.nota.live/users/beaiouns/statuses/116460771447024562https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://is.nota.live/users/beaiouns/statuses/116460771447024562Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:05:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:05:41 GMT]]>@luxliquida i only do sketch/paint art, not photo editing. I have suggestions for those, but I've never chased photo editors, sorry.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460771212610990https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460771212610990Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:05:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:05:03 GMT]]>@Craigp Got to admit, the criticism of the name, many years after first using it, was the first time I learned the word had any meaning beyond the abbreviation.

(English is my second language.)

Now of course I can't unsee it nor understand why they don't change it.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/larsmb/statuses/116460768670590352https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/larsmb/statuses/116460768670590352Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:05:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:04:46 GMT]]>@Craigp@mastodon.social hah! This imagines that GIMP is a programme that artists and designers would willingly want to use, voluntarily. It’s just too obtuse, ugly, incorrect, and essentially faulty compared to just about any normal macOS programme out there since the 80s.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://toot.pikopublish.ing/notes/algq666vdswn0dbkhttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://toot.pikopublish.ing/notes/algq666vdswn0dbkFri, 24 Apr 2026 17:04:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:04:06 GMT]]>@Craigp I must say, not all the word speaks English as a first language, and those who don't don't care much how it's called. I, for one, care more about how to verbally communicate about it. It has the same pronunciation ambiguity (for non-native English speakers) as GIF.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/waltertross/statuses/116460764972360942https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/waltertross/statuses/116460764972360942Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:04:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:03:36 GMT]]>@Craigp
[Proposal for Community-Driven GnuImp fork]

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://toot.cat/users/woozle/statuses/116460762972411385https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://toot.cat/users/woozle/statuses/116460762972411385Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:03:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:59:57 GMT]]>@Craigp I don't think its name is the *only* thing that's been holding it back. But I agree that it's a significant factor.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://brontosin.space/users/Thad/statuses/116460748632025152https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://brontosin.space/users/Thad/statuses/116460748632025152Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:59:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:58:56 GMT]]>@Craigp Do you have recommendations for alternatives that are good for photo editing? I hated using a product named that way, but there didn't seem to be good alternatives, and still I don't know of any off the top of my head...

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://critter.cafe/users/luxliquida/statuses/116460744611782958https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://critter.cafe/users/luxliquida/statuses/116460744611782958Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:58:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:42:47 GMT]]>GIMP spent a decade sucking the oxygen out of open source image editing because open source advocates would say "just contribute to the porn sextime fetish sadomaso image editor" and people would say "uhhhh. I'll just keep using Photoshop, or maybe donate my coding to, uh... a mouse driver or something..."

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460681139628639https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Craigp/statuses/116460681139628639Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:42:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take of the day: we could have stopped Adobe ages ago if GIMP had any other name. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:41:16 GMT]]>@Craigp Yepppp

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.art/users/hiscursedness/statuses/116460675177107670https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.art/users/hiscursedness/statuses/116460675177107670Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:41:16 GMT