Re: [Gimp-developer] wtf with the download?

[Gez <listas ohweb com ar>]

El jue, 07-05-2015 a las 20:39 +0100, C R escribió:
> > Yes, and to also force Bittorrent knowledge upon users.
>
> If I were a new user, I'd Google "torrent" and immediately get links for
> Pirate Bay and other dodgy stuff... nothing having to do with GIMP. Thought
> we were trying to prevent people from going to 3rd party websites and
> downloading viruses accidentally. Having to install a 3rd party downloader
> just to install GIMP is a pretty big hurdle for a lot of people, and they
> are likely to encounter lots of dangerous DOWNLOAD NOW buttons. ;)
> It takes trust in two different software packages just to install one
> program.

[snip]

> I guess I'd ask: Is it more important to enlighten people (and are we
> really doing that, or just scaring them off, or needlessly endangering
> them?) about torrents, or is it more important to make the installation of
> GIMP as easy and enjoyable as possible?

[snip]

> Maybe a link to torrent tutorials /help files if the user wants to
> enlighten themselves, and we should say right away why torrents help us, so
> the user can make an informed choice.
>
> TLDR:
> I think we could at least make the experience more pleasant, and we don't
> even have to change the options.


You've already answered your own questions yourself :)
Choosing torrents as the primary choice is not a bad choice, and if a
Google search is likely to return things related with the fabricated bad
reputation torrents have, the answer is not removing torrents but
communicating better why bittorrent is the right choice for software
distribution.
Enlightening people AND making the experience pleasant shouldn't be two
mutually exclusive options.
So yes, keeping the right options and teaking a little how the options
are communicated to users should be enough to avoid misunderstandings.


> > People who do not read beyond the first line on our downloads page might
> > not be happy with using GIMP, we might be doing them a favor with the
> > current setup.
>
> I got scolded for expressing that opinion. Yea, was worded slightly
> different, but... lol
>
> Well, I've been an ass, been diplomatic... now I'm thinking of being lazy.
> Anyone wants graphics, let me know. I'm glad to help.

I'm a graphic designer like you, but I think this can be solved just by
tweaking the page contents alone. Text styling hierarchy should be
enough. 
Let's try to come up with a better wording for the options, adding some
short and easy information about the options, and that's it.
If some of those ideas can be communicated better with graphics than
with text, then let's try some graphics.
The "download button" solution has some drawbacks as Michael pointed
out, we should only use it if nothing better comes up.

Gez.