I recently set some friends up with Debian Sid using the KDE4 desktop (4.1.0 i think; I am waiting to do their update to 4.2.2 and it may well be 4.2.3 or higher at that point!) and I got a call for help with the Gimp.
This user had used the Gimp on his Windows XP setup before but was never impressed with its strange* functionality. On desktop Linux, however, Gimp is king for photo editing, although Krita is coming along (and has some strange functionality of its own, IMHO).
His question: "How do I make a layer, or parts of a layer, transparent to 20%?"
Seemed simple enough to me, but a few moment of poking around andI had to confess that I didn't know. I walked him through firing up Konversation and got him on the #gimp IRC channel for some help. I joined the channel also to make sure things would work and to help him if needed.
He asked his question, "How do I make a layer, or parts of a layer, transparent to 20%?" and the response was, "Use a mask." Not, "Use a mask and go to the Layer menu and set transparency at ...." or "Here is a tutorial," just "Use a mask."
I followed along and added a mask to my own setup... and then I was completely lost. White? Black? Grey? What do these mean? Where are the tooltips? A google search of YouTube brought up a video showing how to somewhat blend one layer into another, but at no point was it clear on how to fade a top layer to let the bottom show through.
My friend said after a few minutes with little help, "I think i got it, thanks" and logged off. Maybe he did, but I sure didn't. I am not sure why he didn't stick around to wait for more assistance, but he left in a hurry. And the initial 'helper' never offered more help than, "I said, use a mask."
I am not saying that the Gimp is broken, but I would like to see it better. I am not saying that the help wasn't there, because an answer was provided quickly, if without depth. I am not saying my friend wasn't guilty of not RTFM, because he certainly didn't (nor have I).
But if we want people to use the software, we have to have the patience to walk someone through their issue until it is resolved, if we have this ability. If we don't have the knowledge or patience, then we shouldn't be offering help at all.
Am I wrong? Does someone have another take on this? Does someone have a concise answer to my friends' question?
*that is just how Photoshop users see it, no bones about it. I don't even use Photoshop now, and only used it a very little bit about 6 years ago, and I still find the Gimp painful and confusing. Its not holdover use patterns from another app, its just not how my brain works. Nor others' brains, by the common reactions that are out there.
