On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 5:08 PM, wrote:

Who was the clever soul that came up with the name GIMP?

Here are the definitions I found....

(1) a derrogatory term for someone that is disabled or has a medicial problem that results in physical impairment.

(2) An insult implying that someone is incompetent, stupid, etc. Can also be used to imply that the person is uncool or can't/won't do what everyone else is doing.

(3) Gnu Image Manipulation Program

Maybe all three definitions are accurate :D

I wonder what the authors of "less" and "lame" feel about their choice of name.

-- Frank Gore
Project Manager
www.projectpontiac.com

On 04/01/10 16:17, Frank Gore wrote:

I wonder what the authors of "less" and "lame" feel about their choice of name.

I'm sure the authors of less feel pretty lame, since there is a 'more' tool (which, IMO, is not as useful as less).

As for lame, well. Let's not go there. ;)

On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 4:08 PM, wrote:

Who was the clever soul that came up with the name GIMP?

Not this again :( This has been discussed to death already.

Here are the definitions I found...

Then you did not try very hard:
http://www.google.com/search?q=define:gimp

Chris

On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 4:34 PM, Programmer In Training wrote:

I wonder what the authors of "less" and "lame" feel about their choice of name.

I'm sure the authors of less feel pretty lame, since there is a 'more' tool (which, IMO, is not as useful as less).

"less is more"

Chris

On April 1, 2010 02:34:37 pm Chris Mohler wrote:

On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 4:08 PM, wrote:

Who was the clever soul that came up with the name GIMP?

Not this again :( This has been discussed to death already.

Sure it has. But unless the developers stop getting defensive about this unfortunate choice, anyone coming afresh on the name will find it offensive on it's face.

I know it's short for Gnu Image Manipulation Program, and that no one intended any offense, but until the name is changed this discussion will recur - at least once every several months. It's up to you.

Quoting fun@gingerbreadday.com:

Who was the clever soul that came up with the name GIMP?

Peter Mattis and Spencer Kimball, the programmers who started the GIMP project, decided upon the name. The question has indeed been asked before (I suspect you were being facetious), with the answer being provided by Peter Mattis when asked back in 1997 by Zachary Beane of The GIMP Gazette (http://www.xach.com/gg/1997/1/profile/1/).

"It took us a little while to come up with the name. We knew we wanted an image manipulation program like Photoshop, but the name IMP sounded wrong. We also tossed around XIMP (X Image Manipulation Program) following the rule of when in doubt prefix an X for X11 based programs. At the time, Pulp Fiction was the hot movie and a single word popped into my mind while we were tossing out name ideas. It only took a few more minutes to determine what the 'G' stood for.

"And to make the matter clear, the GIMP originally stood for General Image Manipulation Program, but has since been dubbed GNU software by Richard Stallman (with our agreement). Spencer and I decided that GNU Image Manipulation Program is a better usage of the 'G'."

-----------------------

As to some of those who feel the name may be inappropriate and should be changed, I would point out that of the first 100 hits returned by my Google search for the term "gimp", only five of the hits were unrelated to our beloved software application: two dictionary entries & a Wikipedia page listing alternative usages, a website for the physically impaired, and a hobbyist site dealing with embroidery. The other 95 hits were directly related to the GNU Image Manipulation Program (and the dictionary and Wikipedia entries mentioned it in addition to the word's other meanings).

I doubt that there are many brand marks that share a more dominant association with their respective products and to my mind it would be extremely foolhardy to relinquish this mindshare that GIMP has accrued over the years.

Op 03-04-10 18:35, Bob Smits schreef:

On April 1, 2010 02:34:37 pm Chris Mohler wrote:

On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 4:08 PM, wrote:

Who was the clever soul that came up with the name GIMP?

Not this again :( This has been discussed to death already.

Sure it has. But unless the developers stop getting defensive about this unfortunate choice, anyone coming afresh on the name will find it offensive on it's face.

I know it's short for Gnu Image Manipulation Program, and that no one intended any offense, but until the name is changed this discussion will recur - at least once every several months. It's up to you.

Well, anyone... when there are only native English speakers left on the planet. Until then, to me - from the Netherlands - and many others it's not offensive at all.

Jogchum Reitsma

On 04/03/10 15:40, Jogchum Reitsma wrote:

Well, anyone... when there are only native English speakers left on the planet. Until then, to me - from the Netherlands - and many others it's not offensive at all.

I'm American by birth and see no offense in the name. If someone finds it offensive when taken in context of how it was referred to, too bad for them.

* Jogchum Reitsma [04-03-10 16:39]:

Well, anyone... when there are only native English speakers left on the planet. Until then, to me - from the Netherlands - and many others it's not offensive at all.

It is not offensive to *most* English speakers, but several users take exception and happen to be quite vocal on *many* occasions giving rebirth to the disagreement/debate which they loose again, and again, ...

On Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 10:44 PM, Patrick Shanahan wrote:

* Jogchum Reitsma [04-03-10 16:39]:

Well, anyone... when there are only native English speakers left on the planet. Until then, to me - from the Netherlands - and many others it's not offensive at all.

It is not offensive to *most* English speakers, but several users take exception and happen to be quite vocal on *many* occasions giving rebirth to the disagreement/debate which they loose again, and again, ...

And it's not even a question of winning or losing. Gimp is just Gimp, and I'm sure the vast majority of its users are happy to call it that, so you know... it's pointless to even discuss this.

I'm with you. I don't see the value of changing the name because a tiny minority of intolerant agitators threaten to bully the maintainers.

The name is self-deprecatory, like "less" as a response to "more." It's an ironic response to the hyperbolic, boastful names of many commercial programs.

-rei

On 04/03/2010 04:40 PM, Programmer In Training wrote:

On 04/03/10 15:40, Jogchum Reitsma wrote:

Well, anyone... when there are only native English speakers left on the planet. Until then, to me - from the Netherlands - and many others it's not offensive at all.

I'm American by birth and see no offense in the name. If someone finds it offensive when taken in context of how it was referred to, too bad for them.

And if you can bear one more comment. Gimp is a noun that is virtually gone from the American English language in this sense. There are lots of disparaging words that the language police are trying to remove from usage, but this one died a natural death long ago.

Much like those Southwest airline attendants who got sued for saying eeny-meenie-miney-mo, you gotta be on the lookout for offense to be bothered by this. It was a pretty mild term to begin with, most often used as an adjective, and usually about oneself, e.g., "Can't play ball today, got a gimpy leg."

Give it up folks....if you want to clean up language, there are more better targets to hunt.

Thanks-

Jim Clark

On 04/03/2010 09:35 AM, Bob Smits wrote:

I know it's short for Gnu Image Manipulation Program, and that no one intended any offense, but until the name is changed this discussion will recur - at least once every several months. It's up to you.

You are so out of touch. Names like this are part of the culture. If you don't get how cool it is, then you are not part of the target audience. By this I don't mean in any way to offend you, just to say that to some of us it's obvious how cool this name is, and if to you it's not, then please understand that there is something you're not getting. Don't judge our whole culture.

Patrick

Give it up folks....if you want to clean up language, there are more better targets to hunt.

Thanks-

Jim Clark

LOO, Jim, I was with you 100% until you start talking about cleaning up the 'more better' parts of the language. I suppose you are either 'more clever' in your sarcasm, or you meant 'more, better' or . . .

JC