Hear me out… Everything doesn’t have to be an acronym.
EDHTBAA, got it
I dunno, I was fine with GNU Image Manipulation Program.
To be honest, this seems like a stupid fix to a non-issue.
There’s already Latex, and the purists calling it Lateh only make it seem like they know and are ashamed.
Or Uranus being pronounced not as your-anus but urine-us. The “alternate/kid-friendly” option is just plain worse. It also teaches kids certain words are bad, which is a bad idea for a multitude of resons I won’t get into.
I say keep GIMP GIMP, loud and clear. No need to be ashamed, because it isn’t shameful.
Attempting to avoid this absolute non-issue by ingenious pronounciation or rebranding just exacerbates the issue.
It’s called “GIMP” and not “Fuck Me then Go Out The Door”. Wether or not GIMP was a moment of “funny humor” or not is beside the point. The “official” explanation is perfectly belieavable, and therefore suitable enough. Just run with it.
If an idiot asks “Why’s it called like [insert-here]”, just say it’s a fucking coincidence and you don’t care. Call them dirty-minded for bonus points.
There’s already Latex
wait what? Latex is used in tons of non-sexytime things, surely nobody’s raising an eyebrow at that?
amer*cans
Well, people still do. Yet it hasn’t been rebranded. And GIMP should follow.
The “TeX” part is intended to be Greek though, and TeX predates LaTeX.
There’s already Latex, and the purists calling it Lateh only make it seem like they know and are ashamed.
It’s always been pronounced “Lah-tek” or “Lay-tek” (not “Lateh”). That’s because it comes from Greek where X makes a K sound.
Knuth’s book states plainly that the X sounds like the ‘ch’ in the Scottish word “Loch”. (Or the ‘h’ in hawk-tua for more modern readers.)
Yes. Gimp is the photo editor.
I’d heard some sickos in some place use the word Gimp for something bad. Some sick minority are the last people to listen to about the name of software that’s used world wide by people who don’t know about those sickos.
Which is what the name has not been changed. Put your own house in order.
Not sure if you’re kink-shaming or ableist-shaming.
I’ve only heard the name gimp is used by some in a bad way. I don’t know, nor want to know, what they use it to mean.
Literally no usage of the word gimp is bad, unless your kink shaming or being ableist…
Its just a bdsm term primarily.
Yeah, it seems like a totally unnecessary move.
Another example is Coq, the interactive theorem prover, named after CoC, an abbreviation for calculus constructions, the type theory on which Coq is based, and the co-creator Thierry Coquand in whose native language (French) coq has no sexual connotation and is simply the word for rooster (male chicken).
I have just now seen on Wikipedia to gather this information that it was renamed to Rocq last year after 41 years.
is simply the word for rooster (male chicken).
As is in English?
Or Uranus being pronounced not as your-anus but urine-us. The “alternate/kid-friendly” option is just plain worse. It also teaches kids certain words are bad, which is a bad idea for a multitude of resons I won’t get into.
Look, there’s nothing wrong with the word “anus” but if you’re actually in the field of astronomy that particular pun starts to get old after about the 10 millionth time. Some people just want to be able to talk about the seventh planet without the room erupting in giggles every time they say its name.
Spare a thought for the poor astronomy student doing thesis work on the volatile gases of Uranus. They know, they get it, they just want to be able to have one serious conversation about it.
I pronounce Uranus as Οὐρανός
Soo… our-anus?
ΟΥ in Greek makes sounds like oo as in look,wood etc. It does not lead with a γ sound that would make Uranus sound naughty.
Of course it should also end in -os as -us is a Latin ending.
insert Comrade Tom meme here
I agree with the sentiment, but not the aggressive tone.
Also, *whether.
I thought Uranus was said more like yur than your, no o sound.

Sooo, basically they’re changing the name that’s somewhat bad in English to the name that’s terrible in all languages? Huh.
So, we’ll pronounce it “Wilbur”?
I’m sure those in charge of this had the argument and went 'round and 'round with it. And, this is what they came up with.
Whatever, we’ll get used to it, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea. It will probably hurt brand recognition more than the mildly-offensive “GIMP” ever has. At least when noobs heard “gimp”, their ears would perk up in mild surprise, and they’d ask what it is, there-by solidifying the product in their minds. “Wilbur” just won’t have the same effect, because there’s no surprise. They’ll ask, but the impact will not be as great, and they’ll forget. “Wilbur” is forgettable as a name for anything, or anyone. “Gimp” is not.
What on God’s green earth is WLBR supposed to mean? Why can’t it have a normal, good name?
Linux devs are not good at naming things lol
Can’t deploy gunicorn workers without thinking of a unicorn with a gun where it’s horn is supposed to be.
Wilber is a name.
Its the name of the dog thing in the GIMP logo
Ah fuck, if Gif vs Gif all over again.
I think they should keep both names and just have WLBR be the “enterprise” version.
However, in non-English speaking countries, nobody has an issue with GIMP. And even my very religious and Murican MIL uses Gimp. She doesn’t even know.
If anything, those discussions further the association, as they come up when you google “gimp program sexual” or sth like that.
It’s short for GNU image manipulation program. I mean, you could short it to imp, or rename it to Picture & Image Manipulation Program (PIMP).
I propose Scriptable Image Manipulation Program (SIMP)
Scriptable High Resolution Image Manipulation Program
Scriptable Huge Image Tool
SIMPly genius!
the issue isn’t the kink association. The issue is that the word used to be used as a slur for disabled folks.
Pimp it is then!
I’m partial to SIMP
It must be something that can’t possibly be construed as sexual innuendo, like Linux Image Manipulation Program (LIMP)…
It’s a GNU program, not a Linux program. It runs on multiple platforms.
Windows
Linux
BSD
Ringo (apple)image editor.
eg: the Windows Image Manipulation System
Not the strongest name. Sounds kinda weak.
Maybe “Photographic Image Manipulation Program”?
Gimp is really just a rare/archaic ableist slur anyway - like to refer to someone with a limp or otherwise a leg/lack of a leg that impedes their gait. I’ve never heard it used in my life.
The sexual usage is from gay bdsm subculture in the 70s that the large majority of ppl who are aware of it are only aware because of Pulp Fiction.
My vote is for pimp
The sexual usage is from gay bdsm subculture in the 70s that the large majority of ppl who are aware of it are only aware because of Pulp Fiction.
I had heard gimp/gimpy used to mean “limping or is otherwise gait-impaired” often enough that I assumed the Pulp Fiction character was called the Gimp because of his posture and gait. I was completely unaware of any scene/subculture meaning until reading threads like these.
Full disclosure about my own experience: I am a disabled person who has no strong emotional reaction to the term. I do limp, some days worse than others.
I wonder if it’s a regional thing? I’ve only ever heard it in movies or older TV shows. Where I live people are much more likely to just say “crippled” or describe someone as walking with a limp.
I was confused when I saw Pulp Fiction as a kid because I was like “why is this handicapped guy in a leather suit and what does him being hadicapped have to do with his apparent hobbies” lol. But like I said, never really heard it used in other contexts.
Gimp is really just a rare/archaic ableist slur anyway - like to refer to someone with a limp or otherwise a leg/lack of a leg that impedes their gait. I’ve never heard it used in my life.
I’ve only heard it used that way once in my life. When I was in high school (about 20 years ago), I hurt my leg while playing basketball and was on crutches for a few weeks. This one kid in one of my classes constantly referred to me as “gimp” throughout my recovery.
Ive heard people say something “was gimped” to mean it was bad, weak, reduced, crippled, etc, so I think it is still common enough near me
He saw Pulp Fiction and thought he was clever
It meant that stretchy plastic craft string when I was a kid.
Yeah, which I hear is also called lanyard string, or even boondoggle.
You have to set the WLBR_IS_GIMP env variable to get the new name. So I guess that might be what they going for, at least for now?
I get what you are saying but IMO the old name was hurting adoption. Imagine the headlines if say some city or government announced they are moving to GIMP from photoshop or affinity.
I imagine them being something along the lines of ‘Government organisation X moves from Photoshop to free open source alternative’ or if a journalist is feeling funny ‘Government organisation X moves from paid image manipulation software (PIMP) to GIMP’.
Anyways, I think it’s only a minor issue limited to English speaking countries, and only a issue for people who already have issues
Adoption in English speaking countries only. Why is adoption equally terrible internationally if the name is to blame?
Seriously, the ONLY reason I actually know gimp has other meanings is because of discussions of the program.
The terrible UI is hurting adoption.
I think they should keep both names and just have WLBR be the “enterprise” version.
there’s an enterprise version?
“WLBR”
…just rolllrrrs … lorrrs … rolls off the tongue!
I think it’s a deliberately bad name chosen as a Malicious Compliance type fuck-you to people who wanted it to sound “professional”.
GIMP is GIMP. It’s been GIMP for decades, and that name carries history, recognition, and a community that built something genuine. Rebranding it to WLBR feels like throwing all of that away for the sake of optics that most longtime users like myself frankly don’t care about. It’s not progress in any way, it’s unnecessary self-erasure. GIMP works, GIMP is known as such, and GIMP should stay exactly what it is…
Also, WLBR sucks ass as a name. Just call it Glimpse at this point.
LibreOffice managed to dethrone OpenOffice, but many people still call it OpenOffice even after all these years.
Glimpse is already taken by an abandoned fork that simply changed the name.
So if the fork is abandoned then what’s the issue?
Actually… I have quite a negative perception of GIMP. I’m primarily a Linux user, but I just remember it as something that’s either always felt obtuse to use, missing something I need, or sluggish for the more narrow processing I’m trying to do.
AFAIK that perception is more pronounced outside Linux.
I don’t care about a brand either way. But if the GIMP project is ready, I think a “fresh start” to draw in users without any preconceived notions is a good thing.
The fact that longtime users like yourself can’t see the value in anyone else’s opinion here is pretty on point in my experience with this community.
How is arguing for one side of the issue “not seeing the value of anyone else’s opinion”.
Because to you it’s virtually meaningless other than some weird nostalgia. For schools it’s the difference between a teacher being able to promote the software to 30 kids at a time or not. You may think that’s stupid, so does the teacher, it doesn’t matter.
Can you not put words into my mouth?
How else do you expect anyone to take this? 🙄
Rebranding it to WLBR feels like throwing all of that away for the sake of optics that most longtime users like myself frankly don’t care about.
You wrote
Because to you it’s virtually meaningless other than some weird nostalgia
responding to my comment. I didn’t take any side, let alone argued from with nostalgia; where does the “you” come from?
deleted by creator
Couldn’t they just call it IMP(Image Manipulation Program)?
Yeah, GNU IMP. Recognisable and easy to understand for those familiar with the old name.
WLBR just seems like people being clever for clevers sake.
Yeah we can just call it GIMP for short
Because their mascot is already named Wilber and BSD already has an infernal mascot.
Rename the mascot IMP then.
Yeah and you’d think GNU would like the recognition too.
Why not SIMP(super Image Manipulation Program)?
I’d rather have a little demon than a simp
Would you prefer a LIMP or a PIMP? Or are you a WIMP?
The Image Manipulation Program Formerly Known As Gimp, or
TIMPFKAG
It’s the perfect name: Pronounceable, unique i.e. searchable, and a silly abbreviation. Nobody could object to that.
From a name you don’t want to say to a name you can’t say
I think you just pronounce it Wilbur
SFDC, IBM, ADP, KKR MYOB are all similarly unpronouncable as singular words.
I’ve heard of one of these, and IBM has history, brand recognition and rolls off the tongue better.
sfdc (Salesforce dot com) is one of the biggest CRMs in the world and pretty much runs every sales department out there, adp (automatic data processing) is one of the biggest payroll systems in the world.
it’s highly likely you’ve interacted with either or both but maybe in a white-labelled way (e.g. all of Carmax’s computer systems run entirely off Salesforce)
I’ve heard of and professionally used salesforce, and never heard of it referred as SFDC
oh interesting - I’ve worked at 4 companies in 10 years, they all called it that.
same here, but we called it salesforce.
and absolutely everything related to it was called that: salesforce support team == salesforce
salesforce cloud == salesforce
salesforce time share seminar == salesforce
guy who used to work at saleseforce == salesforce.
Wait Salesforce has an acroynm?
Everyone I know who’s ever used it just says/writes ‘Salesforce.’
I am now discovering through these replies that seems to be the case. Maybe it’s a regional thing? im in SE USA
NW USA, Seattle area is where most of my dialect/experience is from.
adp (automatic data processing) is one of the biggest payroll systems in the world.
i always wondered what adp meant; i just assumed it was initials of the rich guys who create it. lol
It took me reading the comments here to get that it’s pronounced Wilbur. I don’t get why it needs to be an acronym
It’s not open source unless the package name is a scabby dumpster fire.
As in the pig from Charlotte’s Web?
I suppose so. I’d rather they spell it out for simple readability. Like I don’t know what Krita means but easy to read. Kate text editor may mean something, I don’t know. Kdenlive is easy to read. Don’t know what the ‘den’ part is supposed to mean
Apparently it’s “KDE Non-Linear Video Editor”. At least kdenlive is easy to read in my opinion
Krita means crayon in Swedish. Also “Rita” means to draw, so the name is well fitting for us.
And that’s exactly why it’s called Krita. Also it was previously called ‘Krayon’, so they just kind of kept the name.
I mean corporate names aren’t better meaning wise, they just have WAY more marketing behind them so they sound natural by virtue of being in your face until you capitulate.
What does 10^100 have to do with search engines? Also they spelled it wrong.
What does the biggest rainforest in the world have to do with shopping?
What do slight muscle spasms have to do with streaming?
What does a fruit have to do with shitty locked down phones and computers?
What does a colloquial superlative prefix have to do with taxis and food delivery?
What does the sound of a clock have to do with short videos? And before that it was a plant structure.
What does a reflective finish/coating have to do with web browsing?
All of those are pronouncable words.
WLBR isn’t a word, and the W makes it way too long to pronounce the letters separately in English. And Wilbur sounds old. It’s just not a good name, no matter which way you look at it.They should have gone with Imp.
Or better: GNU IMP
No it’s the name of the mascot
One of the Wright brothers maybe? Still has nothing to do with image editing though.
I will be locking this issue to avoid non-core developers spamming with the same walls of texts about the project name.
Bruno is a very wise man.
I dunno. A wise man would propose a better name.
A man can be wise and still propose a name that some people don’t like. The reason why this man is wise is, he knows what would happen and is wise enough to limit / lock the thread before it happens.
There are names that ‘some people don’t like.’ There are also terrible names. WLBR is both.
Your opinion is one of many. For some the name does not matter, for others GIMP is worse than WLBR. I don’t care what the name is. To me the person Bruno was wise to lock it, because he knew non contributor would spam with their opinion and with history. That is the mark of a wise man. This is my point, not how many people like or dislike the new name. That’s not the point I am making.
At least GIMP could be pronounced nced WTF is WLBR.
Wilbur, IIRC is the name of the mascot.
GIMP being worse doesn’t mean WLBR isn’t bad.
Idk why they didn’t just rename it the GNU Image Program
Which is irrelevant to the point I am making.
Yeah I agree. WLBR is the most horrible name ever. Also it reminds me of the WNBR, which is the World Naked Bike Ride… not safe for work either.
Reminds me of the WLER railway line, and I like trains, so that makes it a great name.
(Turns out that “it reminds me of” is not a great way to evaluate a name)
How does this have downvotes?
Since it’s called the GNU Image Manipulation Program, why not pick up the extremely low hanging fruit and call it GNU Imp? It also comes with a free mascot.
Edit: And given that Wilber already has a cheeky smile and two horn-like ears, it wouldn’t even be that much of a new mascot either. I mean come on people, do I have to think of everything around here?
It’s easier to search online for WLBR than for Imp. It might occasionally force people to search for the full name “GNU Imp”, which might be a plus.
Other than that, I love your proposal.
Where are people getting that this is a rebrand?
It’s just an environment variable you can set that changes the name if it offends you.
For now. It seems like obvious water-testing.
And even if it isn’t, giving “users” (read: corporate middle managers never actually using the app) the “option” of the “name” “not being” “naughty”.
These all “these” are “concepts” GIMP can do without.
The name is what it is. You didn’t make the app, you don’t set the name. Simple as.
And to the makers/maintainers:
Is throwing old and loyal users under the bus worth it?
The conspiracy theorist in me can see this being the start of the end of GIMP. It wouldn’t be the first or the last FOSS project to “fall from grace”.
I’m not saying it will - I don’t want to do a detailed study of GIMP lore and current politics, but the simple act of potentially enabling a rename in the future is a GIANT FUCKING RED FLAG in my book.
Even with good intentions, it “enables” a “later” “usurpation”.
It’s like deliberately cutting yourself in the middle of pirrhana-infested pool.
The wound’s not deep. It isn’t dangerous. Nor do the pirrhanas notice right away.
But when they do… You’ll be lucky to just lose the leg you cut.
u still use blender right click select
Also tbh, if it does the same things as before, they could call it POOP, and I’d still use it. The name has no bearing on how it functions.
Who is really out here getting bent out of shape over a name?
Software needs users to fund development and most users find the software via word of mouth and there’s no way I’m telling a friend that they should try POOP for their next art project
How you gonna make the good shit without POOP?
Do you tell them to try GIMP?
Also tbh, if it does the same things as before, they could call it POOP, and I’d still use it. The name has no bearing on how it functions.
That sounds like an argument against the name change…
No, I vote they change it to be just an unpronounceable symbol. You know, kind of like the artist formerly known as Prince.
It’s a lot harder to complain about a name change if it’s not a name!
First time on Lemmy?
Nope, but it’s a nicer way to say, “Y’all are fucking stupid for caring this much about a name change for software that’s free.”
I’d rather let people read between the lines on their own!
Lmao, imagine being so fragile that a name offends you.
As a gimp myself, I agree that being offended is pretty far-fetched. But I can definitely envision a scenario in which someone would rather not be reminded of that word every time they open their image editor. Disability is traumatic and people can be absolutely horrible.
As a gimp myself

GTA SA was my only knowledge of what a gimp is
it has been used as a slur for disabled people.
I’ve literally never heard that before. Is that common in your experience?
Yes, also say something is “GIMPed” if it’s broken or disabled/restricted in some way.
well not in modern parlance but yeah I’m aware it’s an olde timey word
It’s more commonly associated with the movie Gimp
I have heard it used that way in the last decade I think
At this point everything has been used as as slur
That’s for sure 10-ply. There isn’t a word or phrase that can’t be used as a slur.

































