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(Emphasis in original. --Ed.)
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 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.
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.
Is now the time to accept that, to get GIMP into the mainstream, it needs a rename?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 31 2019, @04:59PM (1 child)
Seriously, I'm surprised the more reasonable people in the affected groups don't start yelling "shut the fuck up, we can take care of ourselves". It's not like all, or even most, of people in affected groups are fragile snowflakes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 31 2019, @09:28PM
The problem with the last 20 years, is that it's given incredible rise to people earning money, by yelling insane things loudest.
Yes, this problem existed before .. but, media reach was somewhat limited. You also had to have something people wanted (EG, 40 years ago, Christian TV on Sundays, advertising revenue was obtained.)
While this is good for breaking through barriers, and social change and all that, it's also good for people taking up the gauntlet for issues they aren't even related to, but now receive attention, some power, and most importantly, money. That's what a lot of this is all about. Don't get me wrong, there is legitimacy to many of these causes, but they are constantly taken over by greed, and lunatics.
That's why all you hear about, are the fragile snowflakes. They make money for being fragile, and even spread to other mediums, like old media.. for more $$$. For example, ever see someone sitting in a news room, being interviewed? They get cash for that. Quoting articles? Often cash. It all runs on cash.
So the sensible, who just want to live and work, and are happy? Are drowned out by the mad.