Here are my thoughts on Paintnet, which I hope are thought provoking.
First let me say that Paintnet is a brilliant image editor. I used 3.5 for several years and was happy with it until I tried to colour large bitmap files and found it kept crashing. So I tried Photofiltre, and it handled the largest of files with ease. It also had some other pluses, like it was lightning fast. opening and saving instantly, had more effects than Pnet, some actions. like cropping, were easier, and it had a spray, which is a wonderful way to apply colour! So PF became my main image editor, and then the update 4 of Pnet arrived. I had difficulty with the colour fill and magic wand, but help from a member on this forum helped me learn how to manage them, and these facilities are awesome! But I have no use for them, and they are a nuisance to me. There are advances in Pnet I like. such as the anti-aliasing. which is really sharp, and I always use Pnet for this now. But PF remains my main editor, it's the best for my needs.
So. this is not a criticism of Pnet, but a comment, an expression of opinion. PF suits me best, so it's the best image editor for me. The best editor is the one that suits the user needs best. And if I may make a suggestion Rick, next time you do an update, add a spray!