Mark Shuttleworth wrote:
Michiel, thank you for your contributions so far, and I want to
urge you
to continue to contribute, using whatever tools work best for you
right
now. As others have written, the use of an open format like SVG or PNG
makes collaboration easier and results in content that does not force
other artists to make the same choices that you did. But I see that
you
understand that.
Thanks. I'm aware of the nature of this project and agree that it's
useless to contribute art that can't be used without free software. I
try to keep everything I make in an open format. Thankfully, PNG is
fully supported, but it's too bad that SVG isn't (in Adobe's
products). I've looked at the source of SVG files made with
Illustrator, and it turns out that they look like a complete mess
sometimes. I don't know how usable such files are.
Here's an example of an SVG saved with Illustrator: http://
thingmajig.org/tmp/blocks.svg
I won't use software that cripples the ability for other people to
continue or make derivatives of my work. It's just too bad that
proprietary software comes with such limitations. To me, that means I
won't be contributing in the field of icons, for example, with
Illustrator. I'll have to try and learn Inkscape for its ability to
export SVGs.
It would also be great if you could, for example, once a year evaluate
the best free software art tools, and blog about the features you
think
they need before someone like yourself will switch to them. That helps
guide the development of free software and would be another valuable
contribution.
It's true that people like me have difficulties switching to other
programs. It's a combination of things, I believe.
For one thing, free software does not always adhere to industry
compatibility (Adobe products are greatly compatible with each other,
which saves effort and money for companies that need to work on
multiple types of work, such as illustration and desktop publishing,
and Adobe products are legally able to contain print color guides
such as PANTONE). Free software also doesn't market itself the way
Adobe does, which means that designers might not feel like such free
software is "for them". Lastly, there's the platform difference: lots
of designers use Apple computers and are not willing to do a full
operating system switch just so they can use free software;
thankfully, lots of applications have been ported so they can be run
natively on other operating systems by now, although they not always
fully integrate with such other systems.
The main reason would be my reason: I think that since I can use
proprietary tools to contribute in an open format, I don't
necessarily need to take a detour to get to that same goal. People
like me are usually so used to their toolset that switching is like
losing your right arm and being forced to relearn everything with
your left (or vice versa).
As I've mentioned earlier on IRC, I do feel that I at least owe the
free software developers a try to "tame the beast". I'll definitely
see how the applications work and whether their different frameworks
can help me improve my workflow. And if not, I'll be sure to let it
be known, since I assume that opinions of people who are having a
hard time switching are appreciated by the developers.
Our goal is to ensure that there exists a complete free software stack
for any professional purpose. To do that, we need to draw on expertise
which might not yet be ready to live in a free software-only world.
I agree with this. There are people who don't live in a free software-
only world and don't usually share the same ideology as people who do
but still have a lot of field experience. Those are the people who
can be very useful to a project such as this because of that
experience, which we should encourage them to share without further
obligations. I'm sure that people will become interested once it
becomes attractive to them to switch. There are, afterall, plenty of
frustrating in professional design industry world, and not always the
incentive of companies to get rid of this frustration.
Anyway, this mail has turned out rather long. If you skimmed through
it before reading this: there's not really any need to read all of
it, since Mark has pretty much summed it up already. I'm glad that
you all have responded so positively, regarding my request. Thanks!
Michiel
PS: I've switched e-mail addresses. [EMAIL PROTECTED] will
still be usable for a while, but I intend to abandon it later.
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