Peter Mattis:
I think the GIMP needs to expand its use of plug-ins to basically make almost everything a plug-in. Spencer and I talked about this, but we didn't know how to implement it properly. Basically, I think GIMP should just be a program for displaying images and providing some basic functionality. Everything else, painting, toolbars, etcetera, should be provided by plug-ins.

The great thing about plug-ins is that they allow people to add to a program without understanding all the nitty-gritty details of the program. They enforce modularity.