Re: Misconduct of GTK+/glib Bugtracker Admins

[IgnorantGuru <ignorantguru openmailbox org>]

It’s not a question of whether I personally want to use systemd or gvfs or Red Hat's tools, or even what 
conspiracies that  billion-dollar corporation may be involved with. But as an independent FM developer using 
GTK as my GUI, I want my software to be able to run on a wide variety of systems, not just Gnome (and not 
just Gnome's very latest, since they have no respect for backwards compat). MANY users go out of their way to 
avoid DEs, systemd, gvfs, dbus, etc. - Linux is full of options.  Further, many FM devs HATE gvfs and udisks, 
including the ones that use them.  I had so many problems with udisks support that I wrote udevil to replace 
it, which quieted the problems immediately.

SpaceFM has only gtk, glib, and udev as core dependencies (very unusual for a file manager), allowing it to 
run almost anywhere with any set of system tools in use, and this took work to achieve. If they connect gtk 
to gvfs with a hard dependency, or claim systemd must be in use, then my users have to install all of Gnome 
just to use my app, similar to how you have to install KDE and all its crap to use krusader.  If you want to 
use both, you have all these extraneous daemons and packages installed and running.  That’s how corporations 
think they achieve dominance - by forcing people to install their whole DE. But that just causes devs and 
users to drop GTK.  And it's ridiculous for my app to care what init system a user or distro has selected - 
that's their business.  My app and it's GUI toolkit shouldn't care.

If they were smart, they’d realize that making a very smart GUI toolkit with minimal dependencies and good 
backwards compat would ensure GTK’s long life and wide adoption. Perhaps they just try to keep it for 
Gnome-only’s use, viewing it in a competitive way and being hostile to use by others, hostile to 3rd party 
theming which users greatly enjoy and prioritize, etc, or they’re deliberately running it into the ground to 
destroy GTK and ensure Qt’s adoption (which they’re certainly achieving).

GTK is being abandoned at a phenomenal rate primarily due to Red Hat's agenda and conflicts of interest.  If 
you genuinely support the toolkit, you may wish to take notice of that, and its reasons.

As for who agrees with me and who doesn't, outside of fanboy lists and such, most people I encounter are 
QUITE unhappy with GTK 3, and often ask why I use it at all.  And many devs I know have left it, even when it 
required large amounts of rewriting their apps.

Were I to select a new GUI toolkit for a new app (Gnome or not), I would not select GTK, largely because of 
the obnoxious and arrogant behavior of Red Hat employees and stooges involved in the development and 
bugtrackers, as well as their lack of respect for minimal dependencies, project separation, and community 
involvement.