The seems like classic imitator product naming really.

Apple, Google and Samsung have done it, why not KDE?

Not defending kdenlive but photoshop is a bad example

The photoshop is where you work on pictures. If you shopped there, it would be a photostore.

It is even used as a verb for 'generic photography edition'.

> At least it’s pronounceable, and “photoshop” and “illustrator” are pretty self-explanatory. Acrobat isn’t [self-explanatory] I’ll grant.

Also the sexual connotation isn't very professional IMHO. And this is the opinion of someone who pays a significant chunk of her bills drawing porn.

That doesn't make it a slur.

Perhaps if we ignored some of these reactions to words after... 80+ years, and just let the 'new' meaning become the default... we can move past censoring words that someone, somewhere, used as an insult?

I'd recommend you read up on the aids health supplement, and how that attitude didn't help them. Simple fact is that GIMP has an unfortunate name, it's not getting any better despite your wishes to single-handedly control the most important language on the planet. Its name makes the whole product less appealing, making it a harder sell to switch from Photoshop. A better name would be in order.

The word 'boy' - depending on how said, and the parties involved - could be considered to have racial overtones. We don't stop using that word. We understand context. If I say the word 'boy' when talking to someone, is it automatically a 'slur'? More broadly, is there ever a time when we should assume good intentions vs bad intentions, or do we just constantly assume bad intentions or bad faith in every piece of conversation or writing we consume?

I was asked for a status on a dev issue. I indicated that the bulk of the work was done, except for a couple of small niggling UI issues.

I was "taken aside" and told "I don't ever want to hear you use the n-word again". I was baffled, and still somewhat am. I've used that 'n word' for... over 30 years. It's in literature I've read, have heard prominent people use it for decades, but ... "it's a racist word. racist people use that word. people think you're racist if you use that word".

But... I had to stop using that word around some people who took offense to it.

And... FWIW, I've never cared for the name 'gimp', but not from a perceived slur/slight.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gimp

Second etymology, fourth definition.

Yeah, no.

Gimp (3): 1. (sometimes offensive): Cripple (sense 1a)

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https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gimp

The noun gimp is sometimes used to describe a limp or another physical disability, although it's an outdated and offensive word to use.

If you comment on someone's gimp, call the person a gimp, or say, "Look at that guy trying to gimp across the parking lot without his crutches," you've chosen a very objectionable way to talk about a disability. People will know what you mean if you use the word, but they're likely to be offended by it. Gimp was first used in the 1920's, possibly as a combination of limp and gammy, an old slang word for "bad."

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New Oxford Dictionary of American English

gimp(2) | ɡimp | North American informal, derogatory noun 1 a person with a physical disability or leg injury. • a limp. 2 a stupid or contemptible person.

Sure.

That said...

> Perhaps if we ignored some of these reactions to words after... 80+ years, and just let the 'new' meaning become the default... we can move past censoring words that someone, somewhere, used as an insult?

The world we live in today lets black rappers use the n-word in their music while also seeing white teachers get fired for using it in the context of a classroom discussion about why it is a bad word and ought not be used.

The mental gymnastics of accepting a word which could be either a term of endearment or the most deeply offensive pejorative are too messy for my liking.

> It just wasn't a word used in my circle/area

This highlights the problem, I think. You've moved from a circle where it wasn't even in use, to a circle where it is in use with one meaning (an acronym), and now another circle where it has been used for 100 years with an entirely different meaning (a slur).

You have a decision to make. Acknowledge that other people see the word differently than you do, or try to convince everyone that only your view of the word is the right one. Personally, I think it would be easier for the gimp to be renamed, but I'm also making an assumption (based on the circles I've run in) that more people are familiar with gimp as a slur than they are with it as an acronym for a software program.

Back in the day I knew a few people doing a particular type of art, often with mild adult content on deviantart, or in some cases not so mild, and they were able to fulfill commissions that came direct from enquiries. Those days were quite a while ago, however. That particular topic has continued to grow, despite all its stigmas though I'd imagine with growth came more artists and that likely drove prices down for most.

Kdenlive looks a bit worse IMO. Maybe it is the name of a twitch-stream for someone with “creative name” parent.

“Hey this is Kden, I’m here with my best bros Ayighden and Reighleigh, and you’re watching KdenLive.”

(But I mean we’re used to bad open source names and it isn’t like they have a marketing department, so no big deal, haha).

- Fireworks: you'll make bitmaps so good they'll blow up in colors?

- Dreamweaver: you can weave... dreams? I get the 90s web enthusiasm but come on

- Illustrator: there's bitmap illustration and vector illustration; Illustrator focuses on the latter, so good job on picking the wrong word in "vector illustration"

- InDesign: this name is a marketing dept playing it safe to a point that only a beige puddle of non-meaning remains

- GoLive: crappy subscription 1995 online service

- ColdFusion: lol

I'd love to see people taking such critical takes into the bigger guys for once. Especially because they have marketing departments. F/LOSS project naming reflects their often-personal origins and ways of expressing identity. Some do sound clunky, but give me the clumsy Inkscape any day (the "ksk" is hard to get used to, but you forget quickly) than any of the sad corporate names above.

I'm being snarkier that warranted, but man i'm crestfallen with all the unbridled hate on free software project naming around here.

I agree that expectations should be different for FOSS, but the bar is literally at “pick one or two short + commonly used words and mush them together”…

I'm reminded of Debian Linux and its origins (the combination of names of the OS author and his partner). Ended up being pretty memorable, and brand-wise it works. And yet the motivations behind Debian's naming were unusually human for a software world full of empty buzznames.

Just to be clear, from me at least, this isn’t intended as unbridled hate. The names are bad. So what? Anyone who’s named a software project knows it is an annoying task. And it isn’t very important. I think open source names are often somewhat sarcastic or lampshade-y, and I like it that way.

Inkscape is a great name, IMO.

But cheers, now I see I was reactive towards a generalised view of your point; I now understand where you're coming from, I'm with you there.

What does "denlive" mean? "live" could mean "streamed in real-time" but "den"? "kden"? Am I transmitting live from my den?

"Kdenlive is an acronym for KDE Non-Linear Video Editor"

I've always heard it and pronounced it as kay-den

And of those that aren't plain and descriptive, most of them seem inoffensive. What makes Kate such a worse name for a text editor than "Vim", or "JOE"? What's so awful about a PDF reader called "Okular", when the competition is named named after southwestern construction materials and trapeze artists e.g Adobe Acrobat? At least 'Okular' suggests the program is for viewing something. Corporate brand can be as bizarre as the strangest KDE names, the only difference is what you're acclimatized to.

It also annoys me every time I try to search for the calculator by typing in "Calc", but nothing is found because I forgot I need to look for "KCalc"

I think at the very least, commonly used applications like "Calculator", "Console", "Mail" should just be called "Calculator", "Console", and "Mail". Not everything has to be branded. The mail application on Windows is called "Mail", the terminal is called "Terminal", etc. They don't call them "WinMail" or "WinTerminal" for a reason. They know most users would find that off putting

Somehow in my head some things come out as Dutch, so GGGnome (hard throaty G, like a Klingon would say it).