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󠀡 Jan 19, 2019 @ 10:53pm
SCAM
This is free software.
Last edited by 󠀡; Jan 23, 2019 @ 4:02pm
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Originally posted by EmmetPDX:
Hi. There's a lot to unpack in this thread so it's hard to even know where to begin.

The first thing that you should know is that Krita is and always will be a free and open source project. There are only currently 2 full time developers (Boud and Dmitry) alongside a close-knit community of talented people who volunteer their time and effort for free to make Krita better for artists everywhere. Just like any other application out there, the development and progress of this program costs something--time, energy, effort, and money.

However, unlike most other programs out there, we don't force anybody to pay up in order to use Krita. Instead we rely on the generosity of our caring and passionate community. One part of that is donations through the Krita website, another part is our yearly fundraiser, and another part is selling Krita [for a very low price] on stores like Steam and the Windows store. Simply put, without the financial and development support from members of our community, Krita would not be what it is today and it would be impossible to make steady progress, let alone accelerate the rate of progress beyond what it is today.

The next thing that needs to be made clear is that being "free and open source" does not mean that we are not allowed to sell Krita. Krita is developed under the GPL free software license. To understand the benefits, rules, and limitations of the GPL is beyond the scope of this post and is something that will require you to do your own research. However, know that we comply with this license and take free and open source software seriously. I think it's safe to say that we're all very proud of Krita's role in the free and open source software community.

Finally, we've never done anything to "scam", "bamboozle", trick, or deceive our current or potential users. We link to www.krita.org multiple times and we tell users everything that they need to know in our store page description including the fact that Krita is also available for free. In fact, believe it or not, we have actually been reprimanded by another store for linking our users to our website! It's not hidden in the fine print, we wear it on our sleeve and whenever people ask about our model we always answer honestly.

In the end of the day, we will continue to sell Krita on stores like Steam and I am confident that the people who buy it are people who actively want to support us or who simply don't care one way or another. We are totally open about what Krita is, how our development process works, as well as how things like donations and sales are used to directly fund development.

But, as with any product out there, it's ultimately up for the consumer to do their own research by reading the store page description, checking the website, checking a few reviews, or doing a google search. We can put all the information in the world out there, in multiple places, but if someone decides not to read it, then what more can we do?

Our community volunteers and generous supporters are the lifeblood of this project. Krita is made by artists, for artists. Without that support, progress would instantly grind to a screeching halt. Nobody is getting rich off Krita and every single person involved puts in more than they take out. I hope that you'll read this long wall of text and try to understand where we're coming from and why Krita operates in the way that we do.

Thanks,
Emmet
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Showing 16-21 of 21 comments
GinsengSamurai Feb 7, 2019 @ 1:07am 
Originally posted by FrØsT:
OMG auto-update ! WOW i need THAT !

You clearly don't care what the developers said in this thread.

Here it is in basic kindergarten English: if you like the program, support the programmers..

Something is a scam when people try to trick you into something. There is no trickery here when the developers made it as clear as daylight right in the first sentence of the description:

"Krita is an open source painting..."

Man, why are you so damn stupid?

#16
Leaniv Uisen Feb 9, 2019 @ 12:19am 
wait,he removed his posts?
#17
Darnie Feb 9, 2019 @ 2:24am 
Originally posted by Leaniv:
wait,he removed his posts?

Just ignore him. He not matured enough yet
#18
solarsubway Feb 18, 2019 @ 8:32pm 
I like Krita. Its a good substitute for Photoshop. It has its flaws. But its good overall. You have to consider the support and assets thats what youre paying for. Also supporting the developer. You can search on steam find other art programs each have their strengths and weaknesses.
There are Tutorials on youtube you can learn. It depends on what you want to do with it.
There obviously a community that supports it.
#19
Ankledot Feb 24, 2019 @ 2:02pm 
What a T W A T
Last edited by Ankledot; Feb 24, 2019 @ 2:03pm
#20
EmmetPDX  [developer] Mar 3, 2019 @ 6:04pm 
Be nice everybody!

To some extent I get where the original poster is coming from; everybody would rather get something for free than spend their hard-earned or long-saved cash.

On top of that, some people either don't understand the bigger picture (that time is money and that Krita relies totally relies on the generosity of our community, both with time and money, to make progress.) or they simply don't know that much about the idea of community-driven, free and open source software like Krita, and they get angry and annoyed that they spent even a little bit money on something that they could possibly get for free.

Maybe they don't know "how the sausage is made" or maybe they just don't really care. If someone doesn't know, we can try to explain to them that this is a kind of "grassroots" project and that money that comes in from donations and store sales goes directly towards making the program better for everyone. If they don't care..? Well, there isn't too much we can do about that, I guess.

But, on the bright side, we see a lot of users in this thread, in reviews, and in social media who absolutely do understand what this entire thing is about. A lot of you guys understand that, yeah, you can get Krita for free and if you want to install it on every computer in your neighborhood you can (and should :D) do that, for free! But, I'd say that the vast majority of people who support us on Steam, including most of the people in this thread, are also willingly and actively going out of their way to chip in to the project and support development. That means everything!

So anyway, thanks everyone for the support. Krita belongs to all of us, as if you had coded it yourself, and that makes us different than almost all of the other software on Steam. There is still much that can be done to make Krita better, and as long as people like you and I are willing to lend our support to the project, Krita won't ever stop progressing.

- Emmet
#21
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Krita > General Discussion > Topic Details
Date Posted: Jan 19, 2019 @ 10:53pm
Posts: 21

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