noxcf-gimp
==========

A version of GIMP modified to support popular file formats as first-class
destinations for "Save"

Version 2.8 of GIMP introduces (in the "stable" development stream - several
previous development versions apparently also had it) a drastic change in
the user interface philosophy of the GNU Image Manipulation Program.  Where
GIMP was formerly a general image file editor, it is now an XCF editor with
the ability to import and export other formats.  The common use case of
loading a file in a format like PNG, editing it, and saving it back to PNG,
now involves several extra steps and a factually incorrect "You have unsaved
changes" warning at the end.  As a deliberate design decision, XCF-centred
workflows are now the norm with any workflow not centred on XCF penalized. 
Because this change was made deliberately for important philosophical
reasons, it seems unlikely to be reversed in future versions of mainline
GIMP.  It is, nonetheless, a showstopper for some users who might otherwise
wish to use GIMP.

This is a forked version of GIMP intended to be an editor for general image
file formats with XCF treated as no different from the others.  In the short
term, because it is important to have something that works at all very
soon, it is possible that this version may have XCF support simply disabled;
but the longer-term goal is for XCF to be supported at the same status as
other formats.  Just not rammed down the users' throats.

Forking the package would also be a good opportunity to change the name from
the word "GIMP," which is understood in many communities as as slur against
disabled persons or as a reference to BDSM practices, to something less
likely to cause offence.  The name alone is a showstopper for the use of
GIMP in some corporate environments, and GIMP's development team have made
clear they are unlikely to stop using this name.  Changing the name in the
fork will also help differentiate the forked version from the mainline GIMP. 
However, changing the name will involve a lot of work throughout the
package, and I'm not sure what the new name should be, so it is at present a
lower priority than fixing "Save."