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

[Rob Antonishen <rob antonishen gmail com>]

On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 1:34 AM, Aleksandar Kovac  wrote:

The baddies: And somehow, to an uninitiated, GIMP often comes across as a baffling mess. I have noticed last year, as a part of a research, that among the users, there are GIMP 'monks' way up 'above' who seem to know every trick and loophole there is. Then, there are those brave initiates who try enthusiastically. Many of them don't stick for too long, but some do. And then there is a big, big void in the middle. That void is a result of low acceptance, I think. A problem you mentioned.

The users 'in the middle' are a very important part of the ecosystem, since they usually produce the bulk of various outputs valuable for project. Artwork, feedback, ideas, inspirations, frustrations. The 'middle part' are the users who are not wizards neither newbies. They know how things are going and they can use them fairly well for what they're trying to create, and they are capable of voicing the praises and issues in a more-less intelligible fashion within the context. Since the focus of my research is elsewhere, I did not dig deeper into this, but the absence of 'those in the middle' when it comes to GIMP struck me an indication or a symptom that something's off.

The same could be said for any complex piece of software.  I would disagree that there are many "middle ground users" anymore - and they shouldn't be a a target audience.

Look at a modern word processing program.  Anecdotally, 95% of users would be happy with a simple Rich Text editor and use no features beyond those provided....Most will use a full blown package though, as it is expected, provided, or available.

In the graphic application market, You have a small group of power users who understand the program well, and use it as a tool daily.  Then you have the unwashed masses who are making sigs and renders for no reason I can understand, and don't even know what layers are for.  The so called middle-ground users never get around to a product like PS or Gimp because they simple give up on the complexity and would rather sacrifice capability for convenience.  They use one-click software to make their pictures look better, drag and drop software to create their scrapbooks, or whatever simple to use, dumbed down demo application was bundled with their printer....

-Rob A>