I just don't get the vendetta GNOME has against background processes. GNOME devs just don't use email clients, cloud sync applications, chat clients...? GNOME treats my Nextcloud sync app (which I NEED to be running at all times) as if it was malware or something.
Yeah, if you need to install extensions to make GNOME usable, GNOME is not for you. Seriously, there are other options. I can't stand using GNOME, but they have a vision they are sticking to and I can respect that.
I have used XFCE, KDE, and GNOME and in my opinion, Gnome provides by far the best the best workflow for me. The UI is very keyboard-driven, which makes navigation very fast and intuitive. Also it doesn’t look like an outdated Windows version (like Plasma or XFCE) and I had way fewer bugs with it than with any other desktop.
I find it interesting how everyone always talks about the „Unix philosophy“ („software should do one thing and do it well“) but at the same time everyone likes Plasma for having hundreds of useless, buggy features.
Gnome has a core featureset and a robust extension-system if you need more. There is no bloatware in Gnome. And please don’t tell me something like „Gnome isn’t usable without a taskbar/dock“. It is, lots of people use it that way, not every desktop needs to be like macOS or Windows.
Of course it’s okay to like another desktop environment more, but I just don’t get why Gnome gets so much hate.
I love vanilla gnome. I totally understand how some users prefer the flexibility of KDE, but a clean, minimal interface with easy access to workspaces is just the thing for me.
I'm tired of GNOME messing with it's API but hopefully this is the last time since they're switching to a standard system. Besides that, it's my favorite DE on Linux. I have to give plasma 6 a shot when it comes out but right now GNOME feels just right compared to other desktops.
The reason I don't use Gnome is because it's only usable after you've installed a bunch of extensions yet after every update, half the extensions are always broken.
GNOME is basically the Apple of desktop environments. "You're wrong to want this super common thing, we know what's better for you and don't you defy us!"
I like Gnome because it looks sexy and sleek, and comes default on my Ubuntu. I have a little experience with XFCE and LXDE on Proxmox and Raspberry Pis, and they're perfectly functional and great, so I don't want to besmirch them. But they give me a kinda uneasy sensation like I'm using a tamagotchi or something. I don't know if this is only because I'm using them on low-power potato computers or without proper display drivers, but they just look a little crude by comparison.
I just can't get used to GNOME. I've been using "classic" DEs for too long, so every time I try GNOME I start customizing it and end up withh a worse version of KDE
I'm not gonna lie, I really hated the direction that Gnome went after Gnome 2. Shell just felt way too constricting for my taste. Thankfully, Cinnamon and Mate released to fill in the void.
I use two extensions in gnome I cannot live without. Currently travelling, so I don't know their names by heart. One is for vertical workspaces, the other to visualize CPU/memory/network/disk.
I've had to use a Macbook for a month now, and let me tell you. The world of "I need some functionality = install third party stuff" is infinitely worse.
Want to launch custom terminal with global hotkey? => third party app
Want to manage window layout with keyboard shortcuts? => third party app
Want to add support for normal keys on an external keyboard? (like, home key not being dead) ? => third party app
Want better screenshot support? => third party app
Want to be able to navigate workspaces without waiting 2 second with 120Hz refresh rate monitors (because developers implemented it wrong)? => third party app
Want an alt+tab functionality that isn't a mix between bugged and useless? => third party app
The situation of gnome would be a godsent. It's so bad that I don't care about system monitoring or vertical workspaces. But, once I do, those too would be third party apps.
For me the only shell extension that matters is material-shell which gives me nice window tiling. When it works it works when there’s an update it breaks 90% of the time. I almost always have to do some hacky shit with js to get it working.
Why are they doing this? Because they want to envolve and don't be stuck with old things. However, if they did the transition in a good way by giving the developers time to adapt, that I don't know
Is there another desktop with nice macOS style animations other than gnome? I mean, for me, Gnome is clearly for people who would choose macOS if no linux was available to them (me included)
Extensions are amazing if you need one or two small fwatures but if you mod something too much it will break eventually even if there is no update to the API. This time it's a easy fix again but it's also quite universal breakage sincee they switch from GJS to some more normal JS implementation and that changes some syntax but I expect developers to implement that quickly, maybe most of it could even be done with scripts I guess.
Is it just me who has never experienced any issues with gnome extensions whatsoever? Sure, a lot of them errored out and just wouldn't work, but it wouldn't affect my system.
It just works nicely and efficiently and you can customize it in every way possible. Hell you can change the compositor or even run a subset like xfce-panel.
The only real downside is XFCE doesn't have wayland support, which in of itself is already an arguable need.
GNOME is like using a chromebook which is insulting to the ability of a computer.