The GIMP name controversy, explained (2024)

I was never a GIMP user. I knew it existed but never tried it in earnest or followed its news. Today I learned there was some controversy with the name, so I searched around and found this post which I felt gave a good rundown of the pro and con arguments.

It's ironic that those turned off by the name are the ones who are aware of the connotations. I was unaware when I started using it and mostly I still am.

A bit like the window cleaner fired for whistling a dirty tune.

Why would that be ironic? That is quite expected and in fact the reverse would make no sense. Only the people who understand the meaning of the word can be turned off by its meaning.

That’s like pointing a finger at someone for denouncing slavery or nazism because to know those are bad they would have to know what they entail. Yeah, that’s exactly how it works. Knowing what something means does not indicate you agree or approve of the thing.

In embedded device development we still use "master" and "slave" a lot. There's been jokes about MicroSoft since the 80's as well.