Re: promoting LilyPond

[Garrett McGilvray]

I've laid low because I'm still new enough that I don't have much to contribute 
unless it is a question, but here I might actually have something to say:

> On Dec 2, 2013, at 9:00, David Kastrup <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> Again, I don't think the "no money" aspect should be a primary selling
> point.

I definitely agree there. We often have the idea that "You get what you pay 
for." Too much emphasis on free may cheapen LilyPond in people's minds. 

Personal anecdote: Two or three years ago I gave LilyPond a try as a candidate 
to replace my aging Finale 2000. I eventually decided that free software was 
not going to be sufficient for my needs and that I would have to go ahead and 
pay for "the real thing." I doubt whether my assessment was fair, but that's 
the way I saw it. So instead I paid the big bucks (for me) to upgrade to the 
then-current Finale 2011.

I can't remember why I then arrived at the decision I did. I don't know if the 
LP version at that time was insufficient compared to today, or more likely, I 
didn't know how to make it work. It may have been the shape notes (which now I 
know of the super easy \aikenheads).

The reason that I came back for a second try was not that it was free, since I 
had already paid for "the real thing."  I don't remember what made me think of 
it, but I remembered the essay on LilyPond's goal of superior engraving, and I 
decided to give it a second try. I fared better the second time. I have redone 
some of my past work in LilyPond, and I like the new results better. I doubt 
now I'll go back to Finale. 

Part of the change of my mindset was my experience with Finale. I was 
disappointed by how little it had improved after 11 years of updates. I became 
disappointed with its output once I saw what LilyPond could do. And although a 
GUI should be quite a bit easier to use for most people, Finale remains to my 
mind one of the most unintuitive GUI programs there is. I spent a lot of time 
in its manuals and searching its forums. 

To get to the point, the "you get what you pay for" mindset was replaced for me 
by the idea that you can "take the easy way out" or you can "take the time to 
do it right." LilyPond then compared favorably from the second perspective to 
me. It was the challenge that led to perfection.

I hope no one takes offense at these comparisons. I only mean them as my own 
first and second impressions (fair or otherwise) to show how in my case the 
free price was not what drew me in.