Re: [Gimp-user] Suggestions for the GIMP

[Steve Kinney <admin pilobilus net>]

On 02/10/2013 05:56 PM, WhoCares wrote:

> FYI: 

This thread was turned into a useless exchange of "no it isn't - yes
it is!" nonsense by one post:  An anonymous post from "WhoCares," a
sock puppet post made through a web interface to evade detection.
Let's disassemble that post.

"The GIMP is considered anacronistic and difficult to use."

What?  "Anachronistic" means "misplaced in time."  In the present
context, this is an argument that is impossible to refute because it
is a meaningless noise.  Propagandists call this misuse of language
a "Buzzword."  Note that it is repeated later in the same post.

One may ask, WHO is it that considers the GIMP "anachrnoistic and
difficult to use"?  Is this the consensus of some vast, invisible
Silent Majority?  Or maybe God?  Propagandists call this technique
"Bandwagon", arguing a point by suggesting that "everybody else"
already agrees with it.

"I work with a middle aged systems architect whom considered
learning to use GIMP one of the most difficult parts of building his
software."

Propagandists call this an "Appeal to Authority."  An older systems
architect would be a Godlike authority in the Universe of the
computer illiterate.  The troll's assertion may be true in this
case:  A systems architect would have a substantial learning curve
with ANY image editor the first time he tried to use one, like (for
instance) a brain surgeon using an iPhone for the first time.

"I've been using (and programming) computers since the mid eighties."

More "Appeal to Aurhority", adding weight to criticisms that amount
to "The GIMP is ugly and its developers dress it funny."  But in his
first (and only other) post to the list, "WhoCares" complained that
he was unable to cope with a window too tall for his monitor display
- STUCK like a first time PC user who knows zip point zero about how
user interfaces work.

"If that's not obvious (even after hundreds of discussion threads),
there's nothing I can do to help."

The Troll only wants to help.  But sadly, despite his heroic efforts
to straighten us out, we refuse to see reason.

I almost responded to the troll post from "WhoCares," but I caught
myself in time.  Y'all have no idea how cluttered up this list would
be if I did not habitually ask myself, "Does the post I am about to
write contribute anything useful?"

Maybe this post qualifies.  Maybe.

:o)

Steve