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List:       gimp-developer
Subject:    Re: [Gimp-developer] Negative Press
From:       Valerie VK <valerie_vk () yahoo ! com>
Date:       2007-11-06 6:34:12
Message-ID: 352864.26958.qm () web39615 ! mail ! mud ! yahoo ! com
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> > This is why I suspect it to be a transparency problem and not really
> > a process problem. People actually Won't criticize a process if they
> > think it is doing a good job. In the case of the GUI team, we don't
> > know if it's doing a good job. In fact, we don't see a job being done
> > at all.
> 
> Who are these "we"?
> 
> Clearly I am not one of them, because I benefit from new rectangle
> tools that come out of a spec created by the UI design team, because I
> can read things like
>
http://gimp-brainstorm.blogspot.com/2007/10/team-review-contribution-2650.html
> etc.

The "we" are the 80% users who expect "UI improvement" to be a lot more
than just a new design for the rectangular tools, and won't bother reading
every single post on the gimp-brainstorm blog, much more so since the only
link is in the pile of "ways to contribute" list which does Not include
"Check here for future UI improvement plans."

> > Solve the transparency problem, and the criticism will go away.
> 
> You say what to do, but you don't say how.

Yes I did, in perhaps such an extensive manner that you didn't bother
reading it from my previous response to this topic. Here it is again since
you've missed it:

The easiest solution, as far as I can tell, is actually to apply
the same principle that the GIMP site's "Feature" page and that
the GIMP UI brainstorm blog apply themselves: using pictures
to speak a thousand words. 

The summary would basically roughly serve the same purpose as a 
visible 2.6 milestone (which should also have mock-ups) would from
a PR point-of-view: show people what's in planning so that people 
won't think of GIMP as a dead project that isn't moving anywhere.
Inkscape has a screenshots section for future features, and that
does wonders for showing people the future evolution of the program.

Are there any plans for a "Future feature" page on the GIMP
website? If there is, it could be made up of two sections:
- Future features (with mock-ups based on the 2.6 milestone)
- Future GUI improvements (a whole section dedicated to GUI
improvement! This is sure to score points among critics of the
GIMP interface)

The future GUI improvement section could contain screenshots of a
few key UI improvements in planning (they don't need to include
everything), with eventually an explanation of dependencies such
as GEGL. As long as people know that they Are being planned,
they'll be relatively happy and not get the impression that GIMP
doesn't care about UI improvements. If the features aren't planned 
for any time soon but Are on the long-term plans, an explanation is
enough to let users know that the GUI team isn't GUI-stupid but
simply isn't capable of implementing the changes Yet.

Then add a call for help on implementing prior dependencies, and
maybe you'll even get more developers.

Said section could end with "Got more ideas? Submit to the 
GUI-brainstorm!" And that's it. PR problem solved. Lack manpower? 
Get someone else to do the mock-ups for you. Given the number of
submissions to GUI-brainstorm, it should be easy enough to find 
someone.

Add the occasional news update on GUI rework progress, and that's 
even better! "GIMP is finally taking the GUI problem seriously!" - 
would claim people who haven't noticed the work already under way.

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