Perhaps if they're painted like a police box, nobody will even notice they're present?

Anyone who has ever "joked" in that manner regarding the POTUS would surely learn that there's not a tremendous difference.

THIS! Yes. I'm left-leaning, politically speaking. A very good friend of mine is right-leaning. Though we both have some Libertarian tendencies, we have very different ideas. And we're both college-educated, smart people who enjoy (friendly) battles of wits with one another on a variety of topics, and we are big fans of using facts and truth, not propaganda. It's a rare situation where people with differing political views can have constructive arguments and inform one another and learn (unlike much of American politics).

And yet when he and I come to the climate "debate" (my scare-quotes tell you which side I'm on), we carried it to its logical conclusion which resulted in a war of links backing up our claims. It was almost the equivalent of a schoolyard taunt, "my scientists can beat up your scientists!" because neither of us are specialists in the field. I think we were probably both quite frustrated -- and we actually were interested in getting to the real facts, not just name-calling, generalizations and ad hominems (though we employ those just for fun).

Yes, we can use the Goggle (an amusing misspelling of an acqaintance of mine), but it wouldn't hurt if the article would mention what these things actually are (or link to a page that directly explains what they are) instead of leaving me to guess. My research now shows that:

1. Linux Mint is a linux distribution based on Ubuntu targeting users with little or no Linux experience.
2. Cinnamon is a fork of the GNOME Shell.

I don't live and breathe Linux, though I'm reading Slashdot pretty much every day. If someone wandered onto Slashdot by mistake, would they know what the heck this article is about?

p.s. Shame on you for linking one particular mirror. Find your best download options here.

When I first heard about the jet crash, I was wondering if any of the people on the plane were political enemies of Putin.

I appreciate the idea of people sticking to their principles. Rather than re-typing my argument, I'll ask you to re-read my final two paragraphs.

Now explain to me your principled argument in defense of keeping the name. Do you foresee some kind of irreparable harm that would be caused to the project? Do you think it would make marketing even more challenging? How do you see the pros and cons weighing against one another?

A quick glance at your comment history suggests you're not a troll. I'm not trying to engage in verbal combat of any kind, just to have a constructive argument/debate. In a way, changing the name may seem like some kind of a surrender, or an admission that it was "wrong", but resisting on that basis alone only strokes the ego. Moving past any kind of emotional reaction to the suggestion of a name change, I'm hard-pressed to provide any lengthy list of practical reasons to be strongly attached to the name.

Thank you for being the first reply to understand the distinction between "intent" and "perception". I'm not certain how much name recognition value there is in the current "GIMP" name, but anyone who wants the software or already uses it will certainly be able to track down a new release with a new name. I'm not particularly offended by the name, but I'm sensitive enough to appreciate that it could piss people off or alienate some potential users who find they wish they could use the product in their workplace or institution but opt to use something different as to not ruffle feathers.

A couple of points for you to consider...

• If you think that all Black Americans feel the same way about the word "nigger", you're sorely mistaken.
• The speaker doesn't get to decide whether his words are offensive. That's up to the listeners. If it's well known that a word is deemed by many to be offensive, the speaker ought to at least attempt to be respectful of that, even if he doesn't agree. To do otherwise seems anti-social, antagonistic, a jerk... pick one.
• Of all the things in this world worth of the word "evil", I'm pretty sure you're stretching the definition.

As for the naming of GIMP and whether it should be changed... would it be such a big deal? We've watched many projects go through forks and renames and changes of ownership. StarOffice, OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice. Phoenix, Firebird, Firefox. I think we'd get along just fine with a name change.

To be obstinate on this topic is short-sighted if we (as a community) would like to see this product succeed at an ever-growing rate. If the name is holding it back from adoption or acceptance to any measurable degree, isn't it a good thing to seek improved marketing?

Phew. Thank you for reminding me to bump up my threshold after moderation.

It's great to go back and watch this particular episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos: Encyclopedia Galactica. He goes through the basic idea of the Drake Equation, opines on listening/detecting life elsewhere in the galaxy. It's really great stuff, and worth watching whether you've seen it before or not.

But dangling modifiers are so much fun! Though in this case, the double-meaning isn't nearly as amusing. I wanted to ask what kind of riveting material was being uploaded by the German Courts, and why it garnered enough attention that someone ordered YouTube to filter it.

I don't think that's ever stopped the anti-vaxxers.