Watch it, you GIMP - Glimpse project founded to avoid branding that some find offensive

[Jito463]

Okay, that was definitely a clickbait title, and while I do feel a bit bad about it........I don't feel bad enough to change it.  Mods are free do so as they see fit, however.

 

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/08/28/gimp_open_source_image_editor_forked_to_fix_problematic_name/

 

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is probably the most well known image editing software out there, originally made for Linux, it is also available for Windows and Mac OS.  A small group have decided that the name has certain....marketing drawbacks, so they've forked it and created a new version called Glimpse.

Quote

Glimpse is a fork of the popular open source image editor, GIMP, created primarily to offer the software under an alternative name.

 

GIMP is a longstanding project, first announced in November 1995. The name was originally an acronym for General Image Manipulation Program but this was changed to GNU Image Manipulation Program.

 

The new fork springs from a discussion on Gitlab, where the source code is hosted. The discussion has been hidden but is available on web archives here. A topic titled "Consider renaming GIMP to a less offensive name," opened by developer Christopher Davis, stated:

I'd like to propose renaming GIMP, due to the baggage behind the name. The most modern and often used version of the word "gimp" is an ableist insult. This is also the colloquial usage of the word. In addition to the pain of the definition, there's also the marketability issue. Acronyms are difficult to remember, and they end up pronounced instead of read as their parts. "GIMP" does not give a hint towards the function of the app, and it's hard to market something that's either used as an insult or a sex reference.

 

The proposal was supported by another developer, Leonora Tindall, who noted that "I have, on two occasions now, recommended this program to photography and graphic design educators (as an alternative to Photoshop) who told me that they considered it and found it good as software but weren't permitted by their institution to use it in the classroom because of the name."

So how do the original developers of GIMP feel about this?  It was already covered in their FAQ.

Quote

The subject of the suitability of the name is not new, and is enshrined in the official FAQ:

 

"I don't like the name GIMP. Will you change it?"

 

With all due respect, no. We’ve been using the name GIMP for more than 20 years and it's widely known … on top of that, we feel that in the long run, sterilization of language will do more harm than good. … Finally, if you still have strong feelings about the name "GIMP", you should feel free to promote the use of the long form GNU Image Manipulation Program or maintain your own releases of the software under a different name.

Personally, I'm of the same mind.  Honestly, I never even thought of the name as an insulting term.  People can be so thin-skinned at times.  I myself have things that just bug the crap out of me, but we all have to learn to deal with things out of our control.  That said, the FAQ suggested forking the program to change the name, which someone has now gone and done, so....mission accomplished?

Quote

The Glimpse project is therefore entirely within the spirit of open source. "We believe free software should be accessible to everyone, and in this case a re-brand is both a desirable and very straightforward fix that could attract a whole new generation of users and contributors," says the About page.

It seems they're not just planning on a rebranding fork, though.  They have plans to customize the UI in the future, though they also still plan to contribute to the original GIMP code.

Quote

The developers are planning more than just a name change, including a "front-end UI rewrite" according to an update posted a week ago. The team is looking at screenshots of existing image editing application user interfaces to inform design mockups. There is also a discussion about language choices. Rust with GTK (Gnome Toolkit) bindings, perhaps? C++ and Qt?

 

It is "a long-term plan, maybe a few years down the road," says Moss. "It's something people are looking at in parallel. The main focus at the moment is just tracking the upstream releases, and making changes to them. When we hit GNU image manipulation program version 3, they'll have completed their port to GTK 3, and that's where we are looking to do a hard fork and can start getting more ambitious with user interface changes.

 

"A lot of the functionality is actually in a set of libraries. Those components would still be used and any changes we made to them would be contributed back.

 

[WereCatf]

7 minutes ago, Jito463 said:

Personally, I'm of the same mind.  Honestly, I never even thought of the name as an insulting term.  People can be so thin-skinned at times.

I heard about this whole debacle yesterday and I facepalmed myself hard several times in a row. I mean, for fuck's sakes, "GIMP" is the name of a software-product. It's also a very useful one. I cannot see how the fuck that could be insulting. If anything, it lessens the impact of the word "gimp" when used as an insult!

 

Quote

"GIMP" does not give a hint towards the function of the app

How the fuck is "Glimpse" any better in this regards? "Glimpse" doesn't hint towards the app being an image-editor in any way or form, either!

[minibois]

As a user of GIMP myself (who would have thought..) I have in the past had some difficulties in recommending the program because of the sexual reference that can be made with the name.

That usually doesn't last long though (unless it's an inside joke) and people quickly don't care about the name anymore.

 

GIMP does have a strong brandname at this point, so I don't think changing that would be a great decision.

A UI overhaul would be much appreciated though 

[it_dont_work]

19 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

How the fuck is "Glimpse" any better in this regards? "Glimpse" doesn't hint towards the app being an image-editor in any way or form, either!

 

Looks better to the it idiots when its installed on my government issue public service laptop 

[Loote]

If the fork is actively maintained, then cool, but I'm afraid this project will die down after a year.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Minibois said:

A UI overhaul would be much appreciated though

Yeah. I've gotten severely frustrated several times, because I can't find a way of rearranging the tabs for open pictures, for example. In any other program, you'd just drag the tabs to rearrange them, but in GIMP....nope. Neither does holding ALT down do it. Or CTRL. Or SHIFT. Or any combination of those.

 

There are plenty of such small, but pretty important niggles everywhere.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Loote said:

If the fork is actively maintained, then cool, but I'm afraid this project will die down after a year.

There may be some activity on it for a few weeks while the people hungry for some attention flock to it, but...yeah, I very much doubt it'll live for long.

[Tech_Dreamer]

Rename it to a less offensive P.I.M.P (Photo Image Manipulation Program)

[Master Disaster]

16 minutes ago, it_dont_work said:

 

Looks better to the it idiots when its installed on my government issue public service laptop 

Those "IT Idiots" will all be very well aware of what GIMP is and does.

 

The classroom argument I can see though, imagine trying to teach a group of 14 year old kids how to use GIMP. Yeah, that'll never happen.

 

38 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

How the fuck is "Glimpse" any better in this regards? "Glimpse" doesn't hint towards the app being an image-editor in any way or form, either!

Well Glimpse is at least related to seeing things which loosely ties into an image editing program. Also what does Premier have to do with video editing? Traktor to do with music? I think it's more about changing the name than what the name is changed to.

[WereCatf]

2 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

I think it's more about changing the name than what the name is changed to.

They themselves said that the name "GIMP" not telling anything about the function of the app was one of the reasons for the name-change, not me.

 

4 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Well Glimpse is at least related to seeing things which loosely ties into an image editing program.

Extremely, extremely loosely, IMHO. I mean, it might just as well be about specs. Or MySQL-databases. Weather-patterns. Anything really. Besides, providing a glimpse of or into something doesn't even mean it is necessarily visual -- the output could be e.g. auditory. Or textual.

 

Personally, "Glimpse" sounds more like an image-viewer to me and not an editor, so it's even more misleading than GIMP, which doesn't really mean anything when it comes to software or hardware. What sorts of connotations one comes up with wrt. the word "glimpse" in the context of computer-software is obviously a very personal thing, so I can't claim the connotations that come to my mind would apply even to most people, but, for GIMP, I can't come up with any connotations at all -- if I didn't already know of GIMP and I was looking for an image-editor, I'd likely end up skipping "Glimpse" just because I thought it was a simple viewer, but with no connotations associated with the word GIMP, I'd be more likely to at least read the blurb for what it was.

 

Anyways, this is getting to ranting by now and I apologize for cluttering the thread.

[Vode]

gimp
[ gimp ]
noun
a flat trimming of silk, wool, or other cord, sometimes stiffened with wire, for garments, curtains, etc.
a coarse thread, usually glazed, employed in lacemaking to outline designs.

Where is the offense? :)

[Salv8 (sam)]

3 hours ago, Jito463 said:

thin-skinned

 

(replace australia with thin skinned people and the joke is complete)

[rcmaehl]

If people are mad about GIMP's name, I'm sure these would piss them off even more

[Jito463]

5 hours ago, Minibois said:

I have in the past had some difficulties in recommending the program because of the sexual reference that can be made with the name.

I truly have no idea how this is a sexual reference (nor am I particularly interested in finding out what that reference would be).  Until I read the original article, I didn't even know it held that connotation for some people.

[yolosnail]

Reeeeeeeeeee! Words can't have more than one meaning, and if one of those meanings offends me it must be banned

 

Spoiler

*he says eating his bag of cheese gays*

 

[porina]

"Bring out the glimpse"

 

The only usage I was aware of outside the image editing software was in Pulp Fiction. That's... not the sort of image you want at most work places.

 

6 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

inb4 the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search renames themselves too ._.

Considering I frequent their forums, I didn't even make this connection until you said it...

[spartaman64]

is that where the term gimped came from? ive never heard it being used to refer to a person

[TetraSky]

Honestly, I would never want a software called "GIMP" on my PC, regardless of what it can do. Because there's still plenty of people who don't know about it being an image editor.

[DildorTheDecent]

53 minutes ago, Jito463 said:

I truly have no idea how this is a sexual reference (nor am I particularly interested in finding out what that reference would be).

Well, I think you do want to know:

"A BDSM enthusiast who fancies full-bodied latex and or leather"

 

Source

[PCGuy_5960]

10 minutes ago, DildorTheDecent said:

Well, I think you do want to know:

"A BDSM enthusiast who fancies full-bodied latex and or leather"

 

Source

Urban dictionary somehow always manages to turn every single word into a sexual reference. lmao

 

On this topic, is every single word offensive at this point? Like wtf.

[rcmaehl]

24 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Urban dictionary somehow always manages to turn every single word into a sexual reference. lmao

I'd say a term originating in the 30s is much more relevant than some new fangled computer program
 

26 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

On this topic, is every single word offensive at this point? Like wtf.

How dare you say these offensive words to me! ^/s

[PlayStation 2]

Glimpse is better than GIMP... how? For what it's worth, GIMP actually has a decent enough name recognition to those who have looked into picture editing in any remote sense.

[Tristerin]

How...how...do people have time to find reasons to be offended.  My plate is full.  My cup overfloweth.  Im way to blessed with two much work, to many things that need fixed, to many responsibilities, to much family, to much fun. 

 

Life is better this way, at least for me.  Not sure why people enjoy self-induced drama or emotions.

[suicidalfranco]

A Dumb reason to waste valuable time that could be put toward improving/bringing more features to GIMP

[TVwazhere]

-Added Context to Title-