Comment 35 for bug 16492

Matthew Paul Thomas:

To solve the GIMP-issue you experience you can use the -not switch, which could exclude GIMP from unclutters handling.

As for your two other examples you're right that there is no way to decide the timeout value within every specific program or in the detailed manner you wish (when in field x in program y then hide mouse after time z) by using unclutter.).

The two cases that you mention beside the GIMP one are _already_ a fact in Ubuntu: They are not the result of unclutter. While unclutter doesn't do the micro-management and is indeed a crude solution when put in your light nothing/very little seems to be worse off by inlcuding it in the OS if the options are a) should we have no solution or b) should we have a semi-solution?

What I'm personally afraid of is if nobody would work on a "real" (i.e. more advanced, in the lines of what you seem to request yourself) solution on this if indeed unclutter is included. Thus unclutter, a temporary fix, could end up giving much less incentive to create a real and more full solution of the problem(s) at hand.