Blender Community - Paradox or not?

Sorry for having such a controvertial topic title. I was thinking about the diversity of people the community has. Dirrefent OS’es, so many users that is can make a Windows user feel like a minority. So I made a breakdown of the kind of users we might encounter in these forums, based on background and interests.
This is not some elaborate survey but more my personal impression after being here for a while. It’s posted to entertain.

Windows/Linux/Mac
Windows users are not used of entering command lines. They feel its like being back in the DOS area. Windows is very common and most windows users are end users. Windows users in general arent used to compiling their software from source code.
Linux users seem more hands on. Command lines are a favorite usage. They generally more used to typing commands. Linux is cool and popular with open source developers.
Mac users may have the most stable Operating System in the world, remembering stories of blue screens and virusses on the Window world. Mac is very pro and has it’s place traditionally in graphic design and other areas.

Coders/Artists
Coders know a lot of technical aspects. They often know details that are not well known outside the group of people who do programming. Coders use the forums of Blender.org and the #BlenderCoders
Artists are very creative and are in fact the end users of the Blender software. While being creative they might not know the more technical things like how to compile blender, but still have the urge to take a peek at the current Blender. Artists use the forums of BlenderArtists.org and the IRC #BlenderChat & #Blender

Hobbyist/Professional
Hobbyists like to use Blender for fun. The community is a great way to show their work to the world.
Professional Blender users might be a minority of the users that you might encounter in the forums, but certainly are around. They use Blender in their job and some like to share their artwork to the rest of the community.

Students/Teatchers
Students learning blender at school or college would maybe visit the Blender community out of interest or because they have questions and need information. I dont know is students hang out here.
Tutors will most likely be around gathering information and in general keeping up-to-date where possible on the Blender developers. I know of some tutors being around.

Open Source/Commercial
Open Source users are in many cases very dedicated to the Open Source Software consept. A real Open Source fan would most likely be a Linux user. In an ideal world, all software should be open source they think.
Commercial users are virtually absent in the Blender community. They often have other questions and needs than the Open Source users. Mostly more business related. In an ideal world they could use the Open Source product in their production pipeline. If they are interested in the software it means it’s good software, not because it’s free. They are traditionally more concerned with legal issues, pro level tech support and consultation, stability, possibilities and impossibilities, revenues etc than the price of software.

Time for a short enquete!!!

*/me:
Windows (dual boot with debian, slowly switching to linux)
Artist (I am a coder but never done any coding for blender:o)
Hobbyist
Student (planning to teach it on my school, status: dreaming… :D)
Open source (Where i can i use open source)

  • Me is a Windows user
  • Artist & Coder (but not, as yet, Blender)
  • Hobbyist who wouldn’t mind being a professional if I could get it to pay my bills
  • Neither a student nor a teacher, except in the sense that I’m always eager to learn and willing to share what little I know
  • Love open source, but not opposed to using commerical software

I’s is a windows user
An a artist/tutor
proffesional but not at spelling
Tutor (trainee) looking to implement blender into FE colleges in the South Wales area given the chance
Love the idea of open source would go Linux but it scares me

  • Windows for professional work.
  • Linux for personal work.
  • Artist (rediscovering some hidden talent maybe). More of a hobby.
  • Coder (not in CG industry).
  • Love OpenSource as it doesn’t put a dent in my wallet. Would love to contribute in one project. It provides software/OS which is more stable than commercial counterparts.

-Windows for Professional work
-Linux for the hell of it - last ten yars have been dual booting
-Artist - Semi-professional ie not trained, but I use blender for my work
-Pseudo Coder - Making games in DBpro:)
-Opensource all the way. Gimp-Blender-Inkscape=yay. If blender had more architechtural or engineering plugins…wow…

I use mac, windows and linux.

Im an artist, and a hobbyist.

I like OS because its usualy free…

Windows XP
Artist
Hobbyist
not student or teacher
Moving toward OS, still a Windows user. Programs I use most are either open source or free.

ps. Look at my help question about my beer glass in the Texturing and Lighting forum, please :wink:

Win XP
Artist and Blender coder
Hobbyist and Professional
Teacher
OpenSource where appropriate, commercial otherwise

Ubuntu
A bit of artist, coder, wiki contributor ranslator
hobbyist
(student) (not anymore though)
Open Source

i use winxp, my server uses linux
artist 1st, then some coding
hobbyist getting interested in the professional side
not a student or teacher (swing both ways w/ blender though*)
everything should be opensource, then again I use winxp

*and this is why the community is important

WinXP user (not my choice)
Use Blender for hobby / CAD and mechanical design
–>“Blender has helped me become artistic”
Student but not of Design, would love an opportunity to teach
Thinks command lines are pimp (make one feel like lone gunman from X-Files)
Open Source where reliable, Legit everywhere else (except for short periods)

/ is is a windows user

/an artist that explores this as a

/hobby as is new an no where near good enough to do it

/ professionally but uses it to

/express art in this way is a

/student as is always learning new keys and things to do with blender

/learnt from a freind in NZ of the program and now outstrips him so teaches him new things

/always use open source it is cheaper and is better in my experince.

wow, more windows user then I thought.

= Windows user
= Artist (But am also a coder, don’t have much time to contribute anything to Blender… YET)
= Hobbyist
= Commercial (except for Audacity, VirtualDub, Blender)

(IE is better then firefox) :smiley:

  • Windows user (Sometimes I just wanna burn it, I just keep it for games)
  • Artist (but very-noob, not-so-good-with-c-stuff, wannabe coder)
  • Hobbyst
  • Not student nor teacher. Selfthaught.
  • I don’t really fit in either category. A bit of both, maybe.
  • windows (RHINO, 3D render engines) mac (the rest) user

-artist who scripts but does not code too much, when you can even call it coding …

  • professional, using blender as one tool, lately the main tool for product design renderings and design explorations/ideations

  • teacher showing students from GD to ID and Studio Art how 3D can be used today in conjunction with non-3D art areas

  • commercial software for the main reason that there are no replacements for adobe products and some 3d high end products (Rhino) and opensourse where they do the job, rendering stills (products)

last one will change soon because I will use mental Ray more again for rendering.

windows
when it comes to Blender an ‘artist’, but overall not so sure :wink:
3D hobbyst, but a multimedia/web and software design pro
not a student any more… own business runner now
using both commercial and open source, let’s say I don’t judge software on it’s price only

Windows
artist, but I cant code to save my life
hobbyist since I havent got a job yet, but Im into all kinds of Multimedia production
Self taught
Ditto the last guy, open or comercial, quality over price(which often means commercial anyway, when I can get it) but I go opensource a lot, since I dont have a ton of money

hmm i got…
Windows and Linux
i guess i’m artist and coder
hobbiest
neight student or teacher (self taught)
i use whatever i like (which means blender/gimp/inkscape/firefox and both widows and linux)

If you are referring to the non-graphics oriented users then you are correct. But most 3D artists have learned how to compile and if they are of a reasonable age, know how to use a command line and have no issues with it.

[quoteLinux users seem more hands on. Command lines are a favorite usage. They generally more used to typing commands. Linux is cool and popular with open source developers.[/quote]

Its popular in general. Most of the graphics industry runs on linux boxes.

Mac users may have the most stable Operating System in the world, remembering stories of blue screens and virusses on the Window world. Mac is very pro and has it’s place traditionally in graphic design and other areas.

Not sure I agree here. Stable…perhaps. But on an overall scheme of things its a slow OS in comparision to WinXP (vista will likely be slow as well) and most Linux variations.

Coders/Artists
Coders know a lot of technical aspects. They often know details that are not well known outside the group of people who do programming. Coders use the forums of Blender.org and the #BlenderCoders
Artists are very creative and are in fact the end users of the Blender software. While being creative they might not know the more technical things like how to compile blender, but still have the urge to take a peek at the current Blender. Artists use the forums of BlenderArtists.org and the IRC #BlenderChat & #Blender

I’d say to some extent that is true. But I frequent all of the chatrooms, and its fairly easy to keep an eye on the CVS and to know most of what is going on in the programming side of things.

Open Source/Commercial
Open Source users are in many cases very dedicated to the Open Source Software consept. A real Open Source fan would most likely be a Linux user. In an ideal world, all software should be open source they think.
Commercial users are virtually absent in the Blender community. They often have other questions and needs than the Open Source users. Mostly more business related. In an ideal world they could use the Open Source product in their production pipeline. If they are interested in the software it means it’s good software, not because it’s free. They are traditionally more concerned with legal issues, pro level tech support and consultation, stability, possibilities and impossibilities, revenues etc than the price of software.

Not entirely true. A friend of mine is building a new studio this coming year and is using Blender as the core 3D product. In conjunction with LW, Photoshop, Flash, etc. Commercial users are present here. You’ll find many Blender users have used or are using commercial software and are running a commercial business.