Why does everyone hate gnome?
Posted by Tizian170@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 359 comments
I've switched from KDE Plasma to Gnome as I was trying out different DEs, and honestly I prefer it. However, I've noticed that people generally don't seem to like gnome (mostly without a reason) - so, to all the gnome haters - why?
CammKelly@reddit
Gnome is very much 'its way or the highway' to quite an extreme level.
Now, whilst I do agree in that a vision for UI that isn't run as a democracy is usually a good thing, Gnome's obstinance also leads rise to things like S76 going off and rolling their own DE rather than deal with Gnome's restrictions over features.
In_The_Nether@reddit
Nan gnome if you know it well enough, you can custom it as you want, you can make mimetypes to open certain files with certain apps, including . appimages, which appear in the dock thanks to the . desktop
There are also the super simple icons to make, etc...
There is gnome extensions too, to add customisations made by the community
captainstormy@reddit
The thing that really kills me is that it wasn't always that way.
Back in the days of Gnome 2 it was very customizable. Just as customizable as KDE. Which is why back then you only really had three desktops (Gnome, KDE, XFCE).
When Gnome 3 happened the gnome Devs became anti customization dictators and it gave rise to today's situation where there are a whole bunch of new GTK based desktops.
abjumpr@reddit
I use KDE pretty much all the time now, but back in the day GNOME 2 was pretty hard to beat. It looked good, was easy to use. He'll even GNOME 1 wasn't altogether too terrible for what it was. Gnome 3 and such I just couldn't get along with the UI. It didn't work for me. That being said, it does work for a lot of people because GNOME exists and is popular. That's the nice thing about the Linux world, there are a lot of choices.
TheFredCain@reddit
The whole world was in turmoil with Gnome 2->3 and KDE 3.5-4 happening essentially at the same time. That chaos is led to all the very similar DEs we have today. XFCE in particular was much more basic until that happened. Even Ubuntu said "screw you guys we're gonna make Unity." Not to mention MATE and Trinity.
captainstormy@reddit
Agreed. Back in the day I was a Gnome 2 guy. Actually Mate is still my preferred DE really but I use KDE for the Wayland support.
Modern Gnome does seem to work for many people, and I'm glad for them. But it's a non starter for me. Like you said, it's good we have choices.
supersaltygrapefruit@reddit
Gnome is extremely flexible with the extension system. it's easy to turn it into a scrollable tiling wm or bring back many hints of a classical desktop with extensions. i find it pretty configurable and it does have some cool features in extensions
captainstormy@reddit
With the janky extension system that breaks every update? That's not what I would call flexible.
supersaltygrapefruit@reddit
Even with Linux distros you have frequent new versions. if you find extension api changes janky, why not stick with a recent LTS distro? what do you think about arch linux and such breaking the whole package system ocassionally? the useful and popular gnome extensions are updated relatively quickly and i no more find it weird than it being weird to upgrade ie fedora every nine months. but you do you
natermer@reddit
People pissed all over Gnome 2 because they got rid of things like Sawfish.
I regularly see people using the exact same insults and character assassinations in their criticism of Gnome 2 that other people use against Gnome 3.
A lot of people seem to operate under the misconception that by them shitting on Gnome they will make their own chosen desktop environment get more attention or somehow force other developers to do what they want. That is not how it works in either case.
Morphized@reddit
At least in Gnome 2 you could keep using Sawfish anyway. Gnome 3 is stuck with Mutter no matter what.
jacob_ewing@reddit
This is exactly why I stopped using it. Previously it did exactly what I wanted, which wasn't much at all. That was made impossible (as far as I know anyway) which switched me to KDE.
BandicootSilver7123@reddit
Cosmic looks like gnome though. I think the linux community just likes to behave like cry babies on every chance they get
CammKelly@reddit
Holy thread necro batman.
But to answer you, I don't think people dislike GTK from a design perspective, they just want to be able to support different workflows from what GNOME will allow.
BandicootSilver7123@reddit
let them create their own toolkits then. I dislike fragmentation but what gnome did never stopped them from wasting resources as we usually do. We claim to have a lot of hands on deck because its open source but none of them matter because they all do different things..I wish desktop Linux was more like blender, open source but still structured to give the best product possible.
CammKelly@reddit
Huh? Your argument makes no sense. You dislike fragmentation, but you want more fragmentation by adding another major toolkit?
BandicootSilver7123@reddit
I dislike fragmentation yes but it doesn't mean Linuxvangelists will fight to rid us of the plague. Im just supporting gnome because they bring something different to the table, a de with a reason to exist the rest dont make sense, if you want a windows ui or mac ui its better to stay on those platforms than create bad replicas.
AspieSoft@reddit
I was using an extension to have icons on my desktop, and the latest update broke that extension. Now I cannot seem to find a replacement.
It's wired how removing important features can be considered improving the UI.
I only use the gnome shell, and install core apps from other desktops. Nemo (the old gnome file manager) is a much better file manager then the new default they use. It has more features and capabilities, and gnome chose to replace it with something more limited and less capable, because UI looks good.
I think a good desktop environment should at least prioritize the User Experience (what you can do with it) over the User Interface (how pretty it looks). Don't remove necessary features for looks.
devHead1967@reddit
I will never understand the logic or reasoning behind having shortcut icons on the Desktop, when the desktop is covered by app windows.
OrSomeSuch@reddit
Some people have a workflow that benefits from them and that should be reason enough to support them. They've been ubiquitous since more or less the dawn of the desktop metaphor.
The attitude of "I don't use it so nobody should" is exactly what makes gnome intolerably for me
AspieSoft@reddit
Especially if it prevents a new user from doing what their used to. Almost seems like gnome would drive away new users.
I once installed linux for my dad to try it, and he didn't like it (probably because of gnome). And he owns a small tech company (where he did most of the work, and didn't always have employees). I wonder if I should try installing KDE instead.
manobataibuvodu@reddit
GNOME is designed with a specific workflow in mind in which you shouldn't be using desktop icons. Having this feature out of the box would encourage people to use Windows-like workflow and thus likely have even more issues later on.
Plus, supporting extra features takes up development time, it doesn't make sense for core maintainers to do that for features that go against intended UX. But if you still want to have that, it's still obviously available to you in the form of an extension. I'd recommend whichever Ubuntu is using because obviously it will have great support and timely updates.
ieatthosedownvotes@reddit
It's really whack to have to click 3 different times to open another terminal window.
OrangeNarwhal23@reddit
When you have a keyboard shortcut to quickly toggle showing the desktop (like Win+D in Windows), it works.
AlijahTheMediocre@reddit
Every windows desktop I've seen has been cluttered by game and app shortcuts, random unorganized folders, etc.
Way I see it the improvement is forcing people to break bad habits.
TheByzantineRum@reddit
That's exactly why KDE is better than Gnome. You have the CHOICE to to pick whether you want desktop icons. You have the choice to pick which application menu you want from the store, with 3 built in ones already. You have the choice to use a multitude of widgets that Gnome has no equivalent of.
manobataibuvodu@reddit
Personally I love the GNOME workflow and how polished everything is. I probably could get something close done in Plasma 6, but it'd likely be not as polished. Plus, I'd have to spend time setting everything up which I have no desire to do.
But if you don't like the GNOME workflow or like tinkering with you DE then KDE is most likely the better option for you.
natermer@reddit
After doing a 10 second search using Gnome Extensions Manager I found at least two extensions that provide desktop icons. One is Desktop-icons-ng and another one is "desktop-icons-ng with gsconnect" with a bunch of extra features. The gsconnect doesn't seem to work well in X11, though, because x11 is buggy. Apparently.
The reason why Gnome extensions sometimes break between major versions is mostly because the extensions are actually using monkey patching. With this approach extensions devs have pretty much unlimited power to do whatever they want, but the more complex they get the more fragile major upgrades become.
However with Gnome 45 there was a deliberate decision to move from GJS modules to ESModules. This is the standard way to do modules with EMCAScript (aka javascript)
calinet6@reddit
And thank goodness for System76, may they save us all. Amen.
CammKelly@reddit
I am quite looking forward to COSMIC as well.
Even-Inspector9931@reddit
why the heck do I need to download openh264 to compile gtk4.22????
FitBread6443@reddit
It's pretty clear gnome 3 was just made up by non-ui/ux experts, they probably couldn't afford them. Just pulled something out of their wahoo and expected us to say it tastes like honey. I consider now anything with "gnome" on it with deep suspicion, as they know these guys are jokers and don't take development seriously.
HalmyLyseas@reddit
Well for me it's not about hating Gnome but not enjoying it and some design decisions, I can still respect the amazing work the team puts out but acknowledge it's not to my liking.
nevadita@reddit
This is the achilles heel of gnome. I use an extension called CPUFreq-monitor. Its been broken since 44, the fix is deceptively simple yet the author has been dicking around since and ignoring pull requests. Yet the extension broke because of a unnecessary format change from Gnome. They had justified that change was useful and make writing extensions more easy, but i have to ask, it is worth breaking several existing extensions?
natermer@reddit
Yeah. Just fork it. The original author is under no obligation to maintain the extension if he lost interest. Although chances are he just hasn't upgraded past 44 yet on his desktop and will get around to it when he gets around to upgrading.
That is the nature of little personal projects.
Ok_Passage_4185@reddit
You know there are platforms that run the same software for decades without modification? Crazy...
nevadita@reddit
I think i was misunderstood. Personally i have no issue on forking the extension and applying the fix. I did that. The issue i was trying to make a point was with the entry user who is gonna try to install the broken extension from the extensions website.
that_leaflet@reddit
If the fix is easy, it sounds like it may be worth forking that project.
As for the javascript change made in Gnome 45, there is no "good time" to make the change. But it is nice for it to use more standard javascript, so the decision was made.
Mordynak@reddit
What basic features that you require are missing?
amamoh@reddit
the most basic like placing shortcut on desktop
Mordynak@reddit
Yeah. As I mentioned elsewhere. I haven't used desktop icons for decades. I don't on my windows workstation, not if I'm using plasma.
I much prefer that "feature" not existing.
fbg13@reddit
u/Tizian170 This comment here is why. Gnome devs have the same attitude, they don't like a feature = no one should have such feature.
Mordynak@reddit
If there were people willing to maintain the feature. It might be there.
It probably isn't there because no one uses it.
spacepawn@reddit
People are willing to but the features are not welcomed, this is why Gnome is bleeding developers.
EspritFort@reddit
Surely more optional features are always objectively better than fewer optional features? Whether one uses a feature or not shouldn't really play a part in that so I don't really understand why anyone would prefer one to not exist.
catbrane@reddit
I think the argument against options is that they need to be tested, maintained and supported.
As you add more options, the number of combinations you have to test shoots up with some kind of power function. Once you have even quite a small number, testing all the combinations and making sure they all work correctly together is a real drag on development. If a bug report comes in, you also need to find out which options the user had set. Tutorials need to consider every combination of options the user might have enabled.
Gnome are hoping that a relatively small number of core options which are well supported and all work correctly, plus a sane extensions system, is a better and more manageable way to develop.
spacepawn@reddit
Then why haven’t they accomplished it? Settings bugs are not uncommon and their plugin system is the definition of insanity.
captainstormy@reddit
It's fine that you prefer to do/not do things.
What isn't fine is when Gnome declares that users have no business doing it and completely takes away it's ability.
It's extra dumb that Gnome 2 had all those features the other guy meantioned, and could be customized to work basically the same as gnome 3 does way back in 2012. However the Gnome devs are so "our way or the highway" they don't believe that anyone should be customimg anything.
Also, it isn't the "Windows desktop metaphor". They didn't invent it. They copied it from Xerox's OS called Alto in the 70s.
skuterpikk@reddit
And tbf, Microsoft most certainly were onto something when they came up with the "Windows desktop metaphor" ;
During the design phase of Windows 95's interface, they actually spent a lot of time designing several different interfaces, workflows, and features. Then they let people try them, and give feedback on what they like and didn't like, and let them come with suggestions as well.
It is important to know that most of those test subjects were "Average Joes" who didn't know all that much about computers, they just wanted something that was easy and intuitive to use, and that was exactly what Microsoft was trying to make.
I'm not saying Win95 (And Windows in general) is the holy grail of user interfaces, but suddenly altering an interface like they did from Gnome2-3 just because "I don't use my computer like in the Win95 era, so nobody should" is just stupid.
Windows 8 with its Metro thing, anyone...? That didn't turn out well.
DictatorDesign™ is never a good idea. Feel free to add features, or make optional changes, but don't remove everything you personally don't like, or make changes that suits your personal preferences and then force it onto your users while also making sure to prevent them from using it the "old fashioned way"
Pay08@reddit
And what exactly stops you from simply not using it instead of declaring that it should not exist?
Harbinger0000@reddit
It keeps the clutter away and it allows me to see the wallpaper better when there are no icons
HalmyLyseas@reddit
Not limited too but some of them:
It doesn't make the DE unusable but it's a bit of annoyance. Again I understand what the Gnome is trying to do, it just doesn't really align with how I want to use my computer and it's fine.
I also use Gnome on my laptop because it's the DE for Aeon and for a sparse usage I can survive :) However I'm really at home on my desktop with KDE.
Casual_DeJekyll@reddit
Gnome tweaks can give you back minimize & maximize. As for the rest I'm not so sure.
My personal issues with Gnome are mainly that the file browser really sucks when loading thousands of pictures by date. (about 6-7k) It takes a bit over 10 seconds to fully finish loading them. Caja, nemo, dolphin, etc all do it pretty much instantly.
Windows 10/11 do it instantly as well so long as you manually change it to load by date modified instead of just date.
I can live with most of the other changes and know extensions & plugins to fix the rest, but I constantly open my pictures folder to browse pics to post and it's annoying that there's no way to make them load quickly based on date.
Mordynak@reddit
I tend to use keyboard shortcuts for min max window resize. Windows and Linux.
I absolutely loathe the windows style taskbar. This is one of the things that makes me use gnome. I can tap a single button and get an overview of everything, then select what I want to switch to. Instead of a poxy little icon, maybe with some text that is cut off cos it's too long. When on windows or Plasma I find I'm taking too long to find the program I want to switch to.
As for the file browser having a split view. Meh. I have not seen this implemented well enough to be useful anywhere. If I NEED it, I'll open a second window.
I don't look at my desktop all that often and have never noticed any issues with that.
Splitting the terminal window. Also, I'd rather just open a second one.
The only thing that really catches me out on gnome are the legacy style tray icons. I dislike having to use tray icons to interact with programs on windows. I wish this concept would die.
HalmyLyseas@reddit
I'm glad that Gnome seems to work out of the box for you, but I don't think it means they have to remove or hide features?
Keeping the same defaults as today but including what is in gnome-tweaks in their settings would go a long way for example.
I won't debate on the others points it's really a user preference and I won't tell you how you like to interact with your system. I hope can see that even for people enjoying Gnome, they are facing issues with it just in this thread. Telling them that's how it is, isn't really useful or good usage of feedback if they wish to stay on that DE.
Long story short, it's too minimalist for me at least and a headache to make it work for my usage and to maintain for my main computer.
ImJustPassinBy@reddit
I'm on Ubuntu 22.04 and am currently using the following extensions:
I wouldn't consider all features "basic" and some extensions may have become unnecessary, but I wouldn't consider them outlandish either.
token_zero@reddit
I hate flat UI
SonStatoAzzurroDiSci@reddit
I don't hate Gnome, I just find unusable and nonsense:
a top bar that doesn't give you any info but the time and the wifi connection.
not be able to know at a glance what programs/windows are opened
keyboard centered: if you are using the mouse everything is one more click away
having to use unsupported extension for basic functionality like the clipboard: even windows now has one built in
Then there is the fact that I prefer Kde (it looks nicer to me and dolphin has split view), I don't like Gtk themes, Gnome removes stuff every release (now there isn't even the option to disable suspension when lid is closed on a notebook).
And that without even touching the mpv window decoration thing.
No-Wear2002@reddit
That top panel is just a bad joke, 1820x20 pixels of pure nothing eating vertical space.
15 minutes was more than enough for me, I'll only install gnome if it ever becomes literally the only available option and even then I'd modify it into Windows as long as there are extensions.
Living-Performer-414@reddit
Not being avle to know at a glance what programs/windows are opened
Wtf? Just click windows key. It is called overview.
Successful_Capital88@reddit
gnome is fucking hard to install theme im dont with it
_angh_@reddit
I like gnome quite a bit. But if nothing will change, I will switch to Plasma 6. At this stage there is no excuse to not have VRR, or some deadlines for HDR. Unfortunately, Gnome does not provide modern functionality and even if I enjoy the minimal, non intrusive UI, they simply are falling behind KDE.
ajcool2k@reddit
I think Gnome mutter is having it for the next release. I believe I recently read about VRR and HDR stuff getting merged.
freetoilet@reddit
Both rolling out in gnome 48 as far as I understand
_angh_@reddit
There was some information:
https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNOME-VRR-2024
but honestly, it is very vague and no dates are provided. I will decide in a few months, but with Valve support KDE seems to be in a better condition than Gnome. I have installed the KDE a few months ago and while performance was great, I had some bugs which made me return to Gnome (which became bit more buggy than previously...) so for now I just wait as I just want to use my system, not configure it. But this much change if issues will persist...
ajcool2k@reddit
Totally understandable. Not trying to convince you of anything. In any case I'm pretty excited about all the changes coming this year to several DEs!
Expert-Ad-6795@reddit
Because Genome basically is eth exact opposite of what's making agood deskop UI.
-customization made as hard as possible
-inefficient
-hurting any possible guildeline when it comes to good GUI design, de to a lack of easily (=faster, especially for professionals!) to distinguish UI elements, lack of GUI modularity, lack of GUI conformity, lack of proper visual design to support eficiency
-going into the wrong direction for years
Technically spoken: Gnome is NOT even a real desktop UI anymore since version 3.
It is an oversimplified kiosk-mode UI, like it would normally use in an evironment where it's potentially being (ab)used by a mass of not-caring, and mostly technically inept people who first are overwhelmed by having the full complexity (=flexibililty=productivity!) of a computer at hand, and who secondary won't miss any features when being presented a primitve UI. You don't want these people to make the system unworkable, so you keep them from changin most things. Like many devices still are being presented in kiosk-mode in supermarkets and such, for example TVs and sometimes smartphones, so the next one trying out a device won't have a disfunctional devbice at hand, because someone before made it disfunctional.
Yes, this kind of usser may represent the majortiy of people - but an UI catering towards these people is a catastrophic loss for more sophisticated people, who actually NEED way more funcitonality for full productivity. And I am not speaking of some two-dig9it percentages here.. but like like up to one or two orders of magnitude faster work than the majority.
Surface_plate@reddit
I just tried it out, as it came default on this installation of Debian and I do not like it. Nothing is where I want it really and trying to change things are difficult.
Windows came without the minimize and maximize buttons as default.
Why is the top bar black? I do not like this.
Why do I have to click on this annoying activities every time I want to get to the application menu.
I'm going back to Xfce.
UltraZelda64@reddit
Most people probably don't feel like giving their reasons because they discussed and argued it to hell and back over thirteen years ago. I personally will use literally just about any desktop over GNOME these days, but the reasons have been beaten to death with the original release of GNOME 3 and I don't think they changed much.
davies_c60@reddit
The same reason everone hated Windows 8 because it looks like an OS that should be on a tablet not a Desktop!
aioeu@reddit
The GNOME environment is strongly opinionated, which is great when it aligns with your own preferences and sucks when it doesn't. Public forums naturally amplify complaints far more than praise.
1aur3n5@reddit
This. I used to use Gnome because it was the default option. But I remember at some point wanting to customize ctrl+shift+u which led me to this issue.
The reason why I switched from Windows to Linux in the first place was because I wanted more configurability. So naturally that response made me look into other DEs.
JonSnowAzorAhai@reddit
I love using gnome but this has single handedly changed my opinion of the desktop environment and its maintainers.
frank-sarno@reddit
This is one of the main reasons that I disliked Gnome. I use multiple platforms and wanted a consistent way to switch input preferences. Couldn't do it in Gnome. I didn't know there was actually a reason for this bizarre decision.
SkillSome5576@reddit
I mean.. There isn't, unless you consider "I don't want that key to be customizable" to be an actual reason lol.
LvS@reddit
The main reason keys shouldn't be customizable is that it will cause people to customize keys.
And I do not mean just users, I mean distros. And DEs.
And then, when you ask what the key combo for "redo" is, they'll tell you it's ctrl-shift-z or ctrl-y or ctrl-shift-y or....
And then, when you write a new app with lots of keybindings, and you want it to work on all distros and not have conflicts, you can't use any of them, because somewhere there's a somewhat large group of people who use that keybinding already.
The other reason is that configurability needs to be tested and verified to be working, which means you need to make sure enough people configure the option so that they notice when it breaks. Which is one of the big complaints with KDE or gnome-shell - once you've configured too much things get unstable and cause weird behaviors. Because you didn't notice that your reconfigured unicode shortcut is also the shortcut some extension chose for toggling some property and now your property gets toggled every time you insert a unicode character.
And the third reason is that every application that tries to replace or extend the functionality now needs to be aware that it might be reconfigured and replace the reconfigured functionality. So you can't have an input method with extended unicode entry shortcut that shows up on ctrl-shift-u, you need to have that extension check for the shortcut in the settings, and replace that.
And the fourth reason is that people forget that they toggled some setting and then they think their system is broken. Say somebody configured the unicode shortcut to ctrl-shift-z and then forgot about it. Later they learn the undo/redo shortcut while on another platform and when they switch back to Gnome, it turns out Gnome not only doesn't support redo, when you press redo it enters random junk once you continue typing.
There's more, but I'm getting bored. Just like to point out one final thing: When you say "I mean. There isn't", you sound incredibly dumb to everyone involved in this stuff, because they know tons of reasons and you made it very obvious that you didn't even bother trying to find reasons for it.
SuteSnute@reddit
If only there were ways to keep a record/list of hotkeys and what actions they are assigned to, so you can refer to them instead. A solution like that has never been tried in any context, ever. Impossible.
Neglector9885@reddit
Wow. That Matthias Clasen guy is a real class act. 🙄 He's one of those guys that see the world his way, and thinks everything should conform to his view because anything else is stupid.
Props to that Mez Pahlan guy for not only bringing sense to the table, but also using really good form to do so. Too many of us in the Linux community are like Matthias. We should all strive to be more like Mez.
Thanks for sharing that. And I agree with you. Configurability is one of the main selling points of Linux. Setting sensible defaults while also allowing the users to customize their key bindings as they see fit is absolutely the way to go. Even Windows allows customizable shortcuts. I use custom shortcuts on Windows all the time. Taking this functionality away on Linux is a bad move.
Nexist418@reddit
I just wanted a screen saver to randomly display my image folder...
SkillSome5576@reddit
Holy shit, that's insanely dumb.
Clottersbur@reddit
That's not even the dumbest part.
The dumber part is that it works on x11 not Wayland. When this was brought up, the same guy who said that said
"I'd like that feature removed from x11 "
FatGreasyBass@reddit
Android phone UIs and Fonts beg to differ
GolemancerVekk@reddit
Oh you haven't seen insane if you haven't read the notify-osd timeout bug. 😆 It ran from 2009 until 2021. It was about the Ubuntu notification tool that refused to let you make notification bubbles shorter than 5 seconds.
the-e2rd@reddit
At least at Ubuntu 23.10, I remap it without any problem, using the run-or-raise extension https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1336/run-or-raise/
<Ctrl><Shift>u,notify-send "Successfully remapped"redoubt515@reddit
This is the right answer here. To this question, and to many other questions of preference in the linux world. You said it much better than I couldve.
DudeEngineer@reddit
People who enjoy or are fine with Gnome are too busy doing things to come online and complain.
Icy-Cup@reddit
Great answer (that’s coming from a KDE user). I respect Gnome and think it’s a great DE, however I don’t like being told how I should „live” à la Apple :D
LetsDoItTonight6969@reddit
I use XFCE. I can't really complain. It does what I need.
tinyfuff1256@reddit
i need to put this out there, i absolutely hate gnome for the reason that it's painful to configure and it uses 2GB ram out of nowhere so on systems with low amounts of ram, good luck because you're probably gonna lose half your ram to gnome!
ObjectiveJellyfish36@reddit
I don't hate it, I just like KDE better.
Itchy_Piano_6688@reddit
I hate Gnome.
ObjectiveJellyfish36@reddit
Judging by this random response you made to a 6 month old post, I don't doubt you.
Such behavior doesn't seem normal, though, so you may want to get off of the internet for a while and reflect on how sad that is.
Itchy_Piano_6688@reddit
I'm fine and have reasons for hating Gnome. Don't play the wise ass, there is no argument for you to win here.
ObjectiveJellyfish36@reddit
You literally replied to an ancient Reddit post about people hating on GNOME and still think "you're fine"? Fucking LOL.
Itchy_Piano_6688@reddit
Yes. Deal with it.
ObjectiveJellyfish36@reddit
Damn, what a sad life you have... :(
Itchy_Piano_6688@reddit
Stop stalking me I won't marry you.
ObjectiveJellyfish36@reddit
No one will... 😭
Itchy_Piano_6688@reddit
Yo mum disagrees
ObjectiveJellyfish36@reddit
But yours doesn't. 💀
Itchy_Piano_6688@reddit
Now you're just saying random things
ObjectiveJellyfish36@reddit
Ditto
Itchy_Piano_6688@reddit
WTF is Ditto?
ObjectiveJellyfish36@reddit
Something your mom knows about
Itchy_Piano_6688@reddit
Don't throw whatever your mom taught you to other people
CumInsideMeDaddyCum@reddit
Same. There is no hate, simply preferences.
ieatthosedownvotes@reddit
There is hate when you are forced to use it at work.
CumInsideMeDaddyCum@reddit
What kind of work forces you to use Gnome desktop environment? I mean, what company forces you to use Linux to begin with? Honestly curious, please tell me more!
PM_ME_FLUFFY_SHIBES@reddit
I don't like Gnome because the developers do not listen to any feedback, also it breaks after every upgrade.
this was a pretty good read about the topic
Mark_B97@reddit
Yeah pretty much this, as well as how they seem to be seeking to remove a lot of basic functionality and expect people to make extensions to add those back. Also their current interface paradigm seems to be made for touchscreens first and desktop second from my point of view.
dmknght@reddit
Gnome devs remove anything they consider "bad for UX". I'm wonder why they never considered removing their documentation website?
ICantBelieveItsNotEC@reddit
The problem with this line of reasoning is assuming that all geeks must be desktop configuration geeks.
I'm a full-time software engineer by day and a hobbyist programmer by night. Pretty much anyone would class me as a geek. Despite that, I give precisely zero fucks about ricing my desktop or automating my workflows.
I turn the computer on and enter my password. I swipe up and type "Firefox", "Sublime Text", and "Console" to launch the programs I need. I swipe left and right when I need to switch between them. That's literally all I need from my desktop environment, and Gnome delivers it perfectly, out of the box, with zero configuration. I'd wager that most "geek users" are in the same boat as me.
The people of r/unixporn are awesome and I love looking at what they create, but they are a very tiny minority of desktop users. Most people just want their desktop to be a host for a web browser, and a few of them want it to also host a text editor/IDE sometimes.
PM_ME_FLUFFY_SHIBES@reddit
Sure, but once you miss basic functionality without addons it's pretty bad. I assume you are using a touch screen since you are swiping? I've never used Gnome on one, could be different from using keyboard and a mouse, where the out of the box experience is just miserable (for me at least).
Real_Marshal@reddit
I’m wondering what’s so miserable about this, I use k&m too, my workflow is to press super and enter a program name, repeat this a few times, and then alt+tab between a browser/ide/terminal.
PM_ME_FLUFFY_SHIBES@reddit
Well, no desktop icons and no task bar nor tray icons are pretty much deal breakers for me, but everyone's workflow is different.
Mordynak@reddit
I haven't used the desktop for decades.
Very few programs NEED tray icons. But admittedly, that is the only extension I install.
Morphized@reddit
Not supporting tray icons would be fine if the desktop were made for an ecosystem that wasn't so heavily NeXT-influenced. I'd like to be able to close my programs in the intended way.
BAKfr@reddit
And this is why a lot of people dislikes Gnome: Tell me what I want and I'll tell you you don't need it.
doggonFreeman@reddit
Not to offend, but to me it sounds like you're too mouse reliant, not very geeky
PM_ME_FLUFFY_SHIBES@reddit
I use i3 at work, plasma at home. Gnome just isn't intuitive for me. I do not use a laptop or a touch screen.
the___heretic@reddit
GNOME has laptop touchpad gestures built in as well.
felipec@reddit
Geeks require more configurations than the average user, that is a fact.
They default configuration of GNOME might perfectly suit you, that is an accident of luck. The overwhelming majority of geek users would require at least some changes to the default configuration, and it's pretty much guaranteed that many of these configurations would not be available in the default settings.
It's your line of reasoning the one that is fallacious: "if it works for me, it should work for most geeks". This is a hasty generalization fallacy.
There's plenty of evidence that GNOME configurations are insufficient for most geek users.
Garlic-Excellent@reddit
Swipe left/right? Tinder has a DE now?
Actually, I think you may have just helped me understand gestures. I never felt I needed them. So when switching DEs I usually don't spend time learning them. Then I activate them by accident and get annoyed leading me to hate gestures.
My typical application use is pretty similar to yours. But I just spread them out across multiple monitors so I'm not doing much switching, just mousing over. That's probably why I never got the point of gestures.
jw13@reddit
Three finger swipe to switch to the Gnome overview is really nice too.
githman@reddit
There was a saying back in the day: when a programmer has nothing better to do, he adjusts the colors. Of course, it comes from the times when UX has not become a separate area yet. Still fun, and now there are even more things to adjust!
SonStatoAzzurroDiSci@reddit
I do the same with Kde, don't even need to press anything but the power botton: Kde loads the session.
somerandomleftist5@reddit
Gnome is a good bit different then apple its hardly a copycat, also I don't consider geek culture to be tweaking a bunch of settings. Gnome is correct to push towards reasonable defaults instead of menus with 9000 knobs and buttons.
I think gnome would have been a lot worse to stay stuck in the 90-00s UI design this person seems to prefer, I like the newer stuff as someone who initially hated gnome 3 and switched to unity and came back and fell in love with modern gnome 3.
Some of his argument seems to be its less popular so bad and does not really show how he got that data, I can pull things from my ass too. All GNOME users are more attractive.
marta_bach@reddit
Yeah i hate it that gnome extension is breaking every upgrade, but other than that i think Gnome is the best Desktop Experience i have tried, even better than MacOS and Windows.
Their UI is consistent, their UX is great, their extension system is good (beside the breaking every updgrade). For example i really like the use of the Meta/Super key in Gnome, you can overview your workspace and do search at the same time with just 1 button. I think their team knows what they are doing, i also think they have strong visions. If we compare it to KDE, i have seen someone says "KDE feels like it was designed by Software Engineers, but Gnome feels like it was designed by an actual UI/UX designer." and i totally agree with that.
dmknght@reddit
I installed Ubuntu inside a VM to do some tests (it's my lab). Gnome crashes randomly caused the whole fking GUI hanged. I have never ever got this issue with XFCE, LXDE, or other DE (Mate? Might be).
That's just how bad Gnome is.
AnonNetUser@reddit
Why does everyone hate gnome? -- because many people don't want a retsrictive tablet UI on their desktop?
Valuable-Standard-82@reddit
Everyone is exaggerated. The main reason is the fact that the user needs to install extensions to access features that are very basic in the most basic systems/interfaces on the market. This is absolutely strange and awkward for me. It seems to me that the feature adoption curve is extremely slow and conservative, which is a paradox, since visually, they try to be modern and cool.
nabatu@reddit
Apple but open source project (:
LockThin3704@reddit
I left KDE for GNOME because of the conflict with Wayland and NVIDIA, and I love it now. I'll never switch back
CumInsideMeDaddyCum@reddit
UI is making me very unproductive. Can you guess which apps I have open? https://i.imgur.com/yuDEjKb.png
Even if you don't know the names (non-default KDE theme lol), you can still tell that I have 3 apps (1 instance per app) opened right now. I can switch easily.
Also, since I am working with Windows and using Linux almost at the same time, I just can't switch between Windows and Gnome UI that frequently.
Also Plasma has more customization options, it's a default choice of SteamOS and generally more "complete" desktop environment than Gnome.
Not that I hate Gnome, but it just feels like that Plasma does everything right and Gnome does basic UI experience wrong.
Tizian170@reddit (OP)
tysm, that was such a great read!
^(also nice username lol)
daemonpenguin@reddit
I wouldn't say I hate GNOME, but I dislike using it. It's the heaviest desktop, by a large margin, using an unusual amount of RAM and CPU/GPU. The layout is weird and requires about triple the amount of mouse movement to accomplish normal tasks compared to other DEs. It's a pain to configure, often requiring extensions for even basic functionality. A lot of common functionality is hidden or requires extra steps to access.
Basically, why would I use a desktop that lacks functionality, hides useful features, requires more work to use, and requires double the resources?
Morphized@reddit
I think the point of hiding things was that you were going to move the mouse to those locations anyway to access those features, so they might as well not have the features take up parts of the screen until you need them. But then they decided that the dash should go on the opposite side of the screen from where you activate it.
nothingtoseehere196@reddit
I actually like gnomes hide everything until you need it approach. Leaves more space for programs on the desktop.
acidtoyman@reddit
When you use a lot of those features a lot, it makes the DE feel crippled.
mwyvr@reddit
Gnome on my ZFS fs Void system starts at ~0.950G of RAM. On btrfs openSUSE Aeon, ~1.12G. On Arch just a little more all n Wayland with near identical configs. I don't consider this excessive given the functionality. Sure, DWM on Xorg is lighter but not by a ton, once I implement all the missing pieces to get near feature parity. There is no free lunch.
Modern Gnome has felt plenty zippy to me and I do care about that. Those that day it is slow, I wonder how recent their experience is and/or what they are comparing it too.
Mordynak@reddit
I use gnome on a potato powered laptop that's probably 15 years old and I use it on my workstation.
It is as snappy and responsive on the potato as it is on my workstation. So icgaf how much ram it uses. That's a nonsense argument.
Also, personally. I don't find it to be lacking anything.
pauljahs@reddit
This! ☝🏻
chozendude@reddit
Most other comments have mostly addressed this, but for me, it simply came down to a workflow issue. The issue with Gnome Shell for me is that my first experience with Linux was moving from Windows 7 to Gnome 2. Gnome 2 felt more like Windows XP out of the box, but was still a familiar workflow coming from Windows 7 and could be easily tweaked to function more like Windows 7 without any major breakages between updates. To be fair, my current workflow is kind of a mash-up between Windows 7 and OSX, but it's efficient and keeps me productive - which is what I need from my daily driver PC.
Gnome Shell basically came along and told everyone (like me) that if they had gotten comfortable with a set workflow for many years under Gnome 2, then it simply sucked to be them, because the devs had a vision and we either needed to get with the program or find something else. This is why there are so many DEs with only slight differences in the Linux world today; they are mostly a result of people seeking refuge from Gnome 3's insistence that everyone MUST conform. That breaks the golden rule of Linux, which is freedom. For me, Gnome simply doesn't fit my workflow anymore and in order to get something even close to what's most productive for me, I have to add a tonne of extensions that will almost always invariably break everytime there's a major version update. So its simply not worth the hassle.
mister_drgn@reddit
Gnome’s default behavior is insane, in my own personal opinion. How do you not show open apps? So you have to install extensions to make it usable, and extensions have historically caused problems (used to require a website to install them, gnome updates sometimes break extensions).
I have other issues with gnome, but that’s the obvious one.
580083351@reddit
No fractional scaling of text is a big one for me.
EatTomatos@reddit
Gnome 3 and higher, simply don't provide any power user functionality. And the fact that there's an app overview but that app overview can't be integrated into the ACTIVE window, just goes against it's own philosophy. And lastly, for laptops they f**k up the right click and make it do this awful 3 finger click.
AppearanceHeavy6724@reddit
KDE=working hi-dpi fractional scaling, properly implemented.
ICantBelieveItsNotEC@reddit
Gnome is an opinionated DE. The developers are building a very particular UX, and they see supporting customization that would diverge from their intended workflow as a waste of effort at best and a UX antipattern at worst. This rubs a certain vocal minority of people the wrong way, especially since Gnome used to be far more customizable.
Personally, I'm a vanilla Gnome enjoyer. The UX works well for me, and I appreciate how cohesive it is compared to other DEs. I'd like to see more opinionated DEs like Gnome and fewer do-everything DEs that are infinitely configurable but have zero cohesion.
Novlonif@reddit
Question - my favorite function of gnome is the super key. It makes for perfect fullscreen application manipulation. How can I do this in KDE?
Pay08@reddit
There's a dashboard widget you can use. I guess you could bind that to super.
Novlonif@reddit
which distro do you prefer?
-ArcaneForest@reddit
You mean overview that's a hotkey in the Kwin shortcuts I set mine to Meta+W and I have the taskbar middle click for overview of all desktops.
Novlonif@reddit
Thanx yiu
tooboredtobeok@reddit
Pretty sure that's called the Overview in kde.
The default keybind for it is win+W. If you wanted to change it to only the windows key, you have to type this in the terminal:
kwriteconfig5 --file kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta "org.kde.kglobalaccel,/component/kwin,,invokeShortcut,Overview" && qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
First command binds the Meta (Windows) key to launch Overview, the second reloads your KWin config (commands separated by &&).
(source: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1391793/kde-5-24-overview-launch-key)
Dalnore@reddit
You can probably configure similar shortcuts to use Super.
-ArcaneForest@reddit
I mentioned this in a reply but the reason many like KDE is twofold familiarity and more importantly customization.
KDE has one of the best desktop customization out there with their Panels, Widget and Windows Management options while gnome offers a decent out of the box experience it's still missing a lot of things that can make it a pain in the ass to use especially when you have to rely on extensions to get the functionality which can break pretty often.
trisul-108@reddit
Probably because KDE looks more like Windows even though it is less user-friendly than Gnome.
-ArcaneForest@reddit
I personally dislike gnome because of how limiting it is and the hoops that need to be jumped in order to customize it not to mention having a carefully constructed Desktop only for an update to break it I really would like to use Gnome since I like the aesthetic but KDE widgets panels and many window management options are too good to pass up and it's better to simply create a similar desktop experience than to use Gnome.
I would give my left testicle for a Gnome similar dashboard.
SimonJ57@reddit
Exactly why I use it.
Why use OS X-like UI, when you can have the more familiar WinDE-like KDE to draw those users in?
Plus. The cog logo > a foot. And the dragon mascot is pretty neat.
DoubleOwl7777@reddit
Mouse >>>> dragon.
githman@reddit
At least, I'm not the only one to find that foot in my face somewhat less than sympathizable.
throttlemeister@reddit
I like the osx ui. And I prefer and use KDE. And that's one of the point of kde: it can be what the user wants it to be, not just what the devs think it should be. It quite literally a couple of minutes to change the look from windows-esque to osx-esque to even gnome-esque if you wanted to. Or whatever else works for you.
And that's immediately why I dislike (I don't hate it) gnome: gnome tries to impose it's way if working on the user, while KDE let's the user decide how he wants to work. It is my personal opinion that my computer should work for me, not the other way around. And I certainly do not require some developer berate me and telling me I use it wrong. I'm 53, I've used Linux and Unix since the early 90s, I earned my right to do things my way even if you feel you can do better.
neon_overload@reddit
I don't hate it, I just don't use computers the way Gnome wants me to use computers.
It's trying to change the desktop metaphor and I'm too long in the tooth to change the way I use a desktop to be interested.
lanavishnu@reddit
Yeah, thunar is pretty great.
demizer@reddit
I have been using gnome for a very long time. I switched to it full time after rolling my own DE for a year or two around 2010 and maybe that's why I love gnome so much. After going through that you appreciate someone else making sure of a minimal future set and that everything works. I try not to mess with myschines too much bcz I have things to do.
lanavishnu@reddit
I used Gnome for half a day this weekend. I got a new Dell with Ubuntu pre installed, sitting on standby. Well power supply gave out on the older computer, so migration time. Used Gnome long enough to migrate my data and then installed XFCE. Had been years since I played with Gnome and hated the workflow more than the last time. I felt locked in.
My XFCE installs are quite customized and relatively minimalist. Hot keys, minimal panel, scripts, a few custom workflow apps, no desktop icons and a conky script that tells me about the system, what music is playing, time, date, weather.
I came to XFCE from Fluxbox and Openbox. Switched because XFCE provided more tools for customizing without tying me down. I feel like if I was stuck with Gnome, I'd have just ended back on Windows sometime in the last 12 years. It was worse than Unity.
The_Tin_Hat@reddit
Gnome is great!
FrostyDiscipline7558@reddit
Because Gnome is designed for those with a touchscreen, like a tablet. If you have mouse and keyboard, Gnome makes no sense.
lKrauzer@reddit
Because GNOME devs are dicks compared to other DE devs, they don't embrace the community's ideas and are plain rude, not to mention it is very closed to customization, and Linux is all about freedom
N0Name117@reddit
I might be in the minority on the sub (though I doubt I'm in the minority for average users or even average linux users) but I actually don't have much interest in changing and customizing every square inch of my desktop these days. Hell, I rarely even change my desktop wallpaper anymore. I much rather them focus on presenting a solid default UI that doesn't need many changes than waste time implementing a UI that supports extensive yet buggy customization.
While I wont comment on the Gnome dev's attitude towards the community as a whole, I don't see that the lack of focus on customization something that is necessarily wrong or runs contrary to the idea of Linux.
lKrauzer@reddit
One of the things GNOME should have ootb imo was a default keyboard shortcut to enable/disable the compositor, you need an extension in order to achieve this, some people might need this and most DEs already leave this up to the user.
This was a simple example, is not always about customization, but also average user experience and control over their own system.
N0Name117@reddit
I'll take your word for it but it's not a feature I've ever needed. One of those things that really only applies to a smaller subset of users and may not be as universal as you thing. Certainly not an "average" user experience.
I have as much control as I honestly will use over Gnome. It's not that I'm opposed to more control per se but I just wouldn't take advantage of it. I'd vastly prefer more stability over more customization and control options.
lKrauzer@reddit
I used those words before I have KDE a try and never looked back, maybe you should commit at least an entire month and see for youself
N0Name117@reddit
No. I was a long time kde user back in the day and have used it recently too but kde sucks ass on a touch screen even with extensive customizations. On a desktop only is, sure, it’s fine but my primary Linux device is a touchscreen portable. Gnome is surprisingly well optimized for touch and the only ui that’s able to split the difference between mouse and touch better is windows 10/11.
SlightJunket@reddit
It has no joy.
Casual_DeJekyll@reddit
Since people are talking about their issues with Gnome in the comments, the one major dealbreaker for me is that the Gnome file manager just sucks so much at loading pics, sorted by modified date, in a folder that has thousands of pictures.
I'm on Gnome 45 running on Wayland in case this doesn't happen on X11 or older versions of Gnome.
I sort by date modified and Dolphin, Nemo, Caja, Windows 10/11 file explorer all load near instantly. Gnome on the other hand takes over 10 seconds to finish loading my 6-7K pics. Worst part is that it still shows some pictures then adds more every second or so, moving them around, so I can't do anything but watch till it's done or I'll end up misclicking.
My 1K video folder loads instantly, so idk if there's a limit in between 1k to 6k or if it struggles more with pictures due to the thumbnails or some other cause.
As for the image viewer I can still install eog and use the modified-date plugin to browse through my pics sorted by the date. So my issue is only with the file explorer itself.
IcaruSisyphus@reddit
I don't use it but I don't hate it. I just don't use it because I prefer window managers.
It is more resource hungry but comparing it to my preference is unfair to Gnome so it comes down to preference.
I've read that Gnome developers are hard pressed to change but I can respect that. That's what they make and either you use it or you don't. Of course that could be oversimplifying it but I can respect a team to not be quick to change. There are other options and they are all free so choose what you want.
I always prefer vanilla Gnome over modified Gnome like in Ubuntu. Nothing against Ubuntu but I thought Fedora ran better for me with vanilla Gnome.
joshuarobison@reddit
"Everyone hates gnome" is a ridiculous statement. Why does everyone hate cheese?
OSSLover@reddit
Because cheese tastes ridiculous.
MintRobber@reddit
Is there a correlation between cheese eating people and loving Gnome? I eat cheese and I use Gnome. I can't remember seeing anyone else using KDE or XFCE.
OSSLover@reddit
XFCE is love, XFCE is life (also Shrek)!
I might switch to KDE, I need to think about it.
e7th-04sh@reddit
isn't KDE like the opposite of XFCE? lol
OSSLover@reddit
In which way?
They greatly reduced the resource usage.
e7th-04sh@reddit
I haven't been following their development for 15 years or so. Lol.
TryHardEggplant@reddit
Cheese has been shown to activate similar receptions to cocaine. Is there a correlation between Gnome and cocaine usage?
joshuarobison@reddit
Your face tastes ridiculous, like cheese.
OSSLover@reddit
Give it a lick! Mm, it tastes just like raisins!
joshuarobison@reddit
Because raisins taste ridiculous
hyperbrainer@reddit
Are you american? Or have you tried real cheese?
OSSLover@reddit
It was a joke.
Here in Germany we have great cheese from France, Italy, Netherlands, swiss and Germany.
I love every cheese except the one with the colored mold in it.
But I also dislike Koreans
hyperbrainer@reddit
Appenzeller Käse is the best.
TechnologyNerd617@reddit
I don't hate it personally but as I heard some people hate it because of being a DE that it's very closed to suggestions. They have an idea in mind and it will be that way, you like it or not.
This isn't new BTW. Gnome 2 to 3 was a big change that not many users like, but they didn't step back. Gnome is like, yes, they are open source, but isn't as free as KDE or other alternatives. It kinda tries too much being a user friendly experience that forgot what's Linux about: freedom to customize your system the way you want, and how deep you want.
acidtoyman@reddit
When Gnome 3 came it, it forced you to click twice to do anything that used to take only one click. It was frustrating to use and impaired my workflow, seemingly to bring a tablet experience to the desktop. I give it a spin here and there to see how it's progressed, but it's always the same horrible experience. I play around with different desktops, but use mostly Cinnamon now.
whizzwr@reddit
The one that do like Gnome won't rant in public forum, blog, reddit, HN comment section. They simply use it and move along. Gnome is the default DE for mainstream distro like Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Redhat. If everyone hate it, it won't be still the default DE.
Anyhow, the criticism was well founded im the beginning of Gnome 3. Now with the latest iteration and vast number of extensions, Gnome is very much tolerable.
christophocles@reddit
I haven't used GNOME very much since 2007 and I preferred KDE even then. I've heard about the removal of classic desktop UI paradigms and lack of customizability in later versions, and that sounds absolutely infuriating to me. I am not interested.
spacepawn@reddit
Simple, GNOME as a community project is a complete disaster, leadership has driven it to the ground. They have a well earned reputation of alienating their user base and being down right abusive and hostile. This means people leave and fewer new contributors since people who don’t use your software won’t contribute. If you don’t buy that, think about how many forks there are of Gnome and how many forks are there for the kernel and KDE.
Super-X2@reddit
I don't hate it, but I have plenty of reasons for using something else.
It looks like a bootleg Android system, something for tablets. Like Windows 8 or a poor man's Mac OS. It's very basic, way too simplistic. It's also heavy and slower than other options. KDE can feel sluggish on lesser systems, but at least I can see why.
I prefer the Ubuntu version over others, but I don't really like Ubuntu unless it's stripped down like Armbian or something similar. On Debian it's very lacking.
You can make it very usable with extensions, but this can slow it down even more and extensions can break with updates or sometimes the ones I want aren't even available depending on the distro.
It's just not what I look for in a GUI. I can see why people that mostly use the terminal can like it, as it won't get in their way and they can't really I appreciate a good GUI anyway.
Legituser_0101@reddit
I wouldn’t say I “hate” Gnome but rather dislike its approach of not having enough customization & and minimal file manager without having to use extensions. I like the gnome 2(now forked MATE DE) approach. KDE is cool but to many options for me on top of the mixed QT/GTK apps. I just ended up settling with XFCE is simple/customizable and lightweight enough for me. Now don’t get me wrong Gnome 44/45 is doing a lot better then before but still not my cup of tea.
LowOwl4312@reddit
For me, it's missing basic functionality like a taskbar, a horrible file manager (doesnt even have type ahead find), and stubborn/rude developers (didn't it take like 20 years for them ti finally agree to give thumbnails to the file picker and even that implementation is half assed)
BiteImportant6691@reddit
GNOME is the Honda Civic of desktop environment. Works for people who don't need much. Most of the people left to talk about it are going to definitionally be people who had a bad time for some reason.
linhusp3@reddit
Because the gnome ppl love to garden walls their shit. And I dont like that.
caineco@reddit
Does hating it while using it count? xd Not without a reason. With each release more and more stuff gets hidden or cut out. They try so hard to make it tablet friendly and butcher mouse oriented features. And I'm not sure I've seen it on a tablet once. So this might be the reason.
The only reason I keep using it is because it still feels snappier than KDE. Maybe my hands grow out of my ass, but KDE apps have a noticeable delay when starting, while gnome stuff is instant.
manobataibuvodu@reddit
Has anything been removed in GNOME 40-series? If I remember correctly they keep moving things from the tweaks app into the official settings app (plus working on new features like the pill menu)
Mark_B97@reddit
I didn't notice any speed difference between apps running on KDE or gnome, aside from how ugly anything that's not GTK looks on gnome.
PsychologicalDrone@reddit
I too have never got along with KDE, feels sluggish and unrefined. Looks nice and offers a lot, but don’t like how it feels to use. Plus, I’m a bit of a Gnome fanboy
redoubt515@reddit
People--especially an outspoken subset of the linux community--don't like change and don't like when things feel unfamiliar, especially if they perceive that change as being out of their control.
And Gnome is one of the most unique desktop designs/workflows out there, borderline iconoclastic and can be quite unfamiliar for someone that is deeply rooted in a traditional "Windows" like desktop. Gnome has a strong vision, and they are focused on pursuing that vision.
Many people are attracted to what they've built (Gnome is the most popular DE after all), but due to the uniqueness and initial learning curve/adaptation, the people that like Gnome like Gnome but the people that don't like Gnome tend to be really not like it (which is fine, so long as they understand this is just a personal prference).
N5tp4nts@reddit
Gnome 2 works for a very long time. Then gnome 3 came out and it was half baked, tried to be a tablet looking OS and just wasn’t a very good desktop environment. XFCE is my favorite DE, so I’m biased in that I think the DE should just be a utility that runs apps.
Neglector9885@reddit
There's a number of reasons why people don't like Gnome. Some reasons make sense, some don't. Some people hate Gnome just because they hate Red Hat (Gnome is open source, but many Red Hat developers work on it).
Others (I think probably most) developed hatred for Gnome back when Gnome 3 first came out. It was heavy, slow, and allowed very minimal customization. I came into Linux after Gnome 3 had been out for a while and many improvements had been made, so I didn't experience what I assume were the worst days of Gnome 3. Coming from Windows, at the time I equated it to Windows 8. By the time Windows 8.1 came out and had some time to push out improvements, Windows 8 honestly wasn't that bad, but the damage to its reputation had been done. Likewise with Gnome 3, it didn't seem so bad in later versions, and Gnome 4x is actually quite excellent in my opinion, but Gnome in general has a damaged reputation because of the early days of Gnome 3. Gnome 4x looks almost exactly like Gnome 3 out of the box, so the improvements aren't immediately visible.
All in all, the opinions that you hear about Gnome are exactly that — they're just opinions. Try it out and decide for yourself if you like it or not. If it works well for you, fuck what everyone else says about it. Linux is yours. Make it the way you like it.
AFlyingGideon@reddit
I'm fascinated by the attention people have apparently given to a DE they're not actively building. I use xfce, and have done so for years. Despite this, I'd be hard-pressed to describe it. It's pretty much invisible, somehow just letting me do my work.
I've read about people having issues with dual-monitor configurations and such, but I've simply never had an issue myself.
In general, I want the DE to be invisible. I want it stable, so my fingers already know what to do without bothering my brain. That's why I've not even considered looking at alternatives since I switched to xfce from olvwm years ago, and I used olvwm for years because I'd been using SunOS on desktops until then.
I still have some function key bindings set to match how I used SUNs, and I would go rapidly [more] insane without focus follows mouse, but I only recall these as I recently installed a new laptop OS and had to follow my recipe. A month or two from now, I'll have forgotten about those (again) . That's why I wrote the recipe a while ago.
I know that I did look at alternatives when olvwm support died away, and I suspect that I looked at Gnome and KDE among others, but once I settled on a choice I've simply stayed there.
Inertia is a powerful force.
zaidgs@reddit
I personally use KDE. However, if I install Linux for family or friends I would not install KDE unless they were a competent PC user. Most likely I would install GNOME (used to install Unity before it was abandoned).
While I love the flexibility and configurability of KDE, it can make it easy for a user to shoot themselves in the foot. For example, I would definitely not want a DE where removing all panels is an easily accessible option. I don't want a clueless user to unwittingly remove all panels and not know how to bring it back.
I would appreciate if KDE had an option (preferably enabled by default) that removes "Enter Edit Mode" from all context menus unless the user goes into the settings and adds it back. This would make it possible to configure the desktop and then "hide the keys" so to speak, so that no one modifies the layout unless they did some digging around.
TrashConvo@reddit
I also prefer gnome, I find the workflow they setup perfect and not distracting. I use KDE plasma at the moment simply because KDE supports VRR
Yare-yare---daze@reddit
They are too political and act like Microsoft does.....
silenceimpaired@reddit
There is no place like Gnome… unless it’s the new Cosmic desktop environment by the folks at PopOS.
CasperTheEpic@reddit
My main reason for disliking gnome is due to lack of features without plugins. I prefer KDE as it has the most features out of the box I use on a daily basis.
I use to run PopOS and Ubuntu with Gnome and I switch between head phones and desktop speakers depending on if I'm playing a game or watching something, in both PopOS and Ubuntu I would either install the gnome plugin to let me switch audio devices from the task tray or go into settings.
It's a mild inconvenience but it's also something a new Linux user would get tired of quickly (like I did when I was new)
My other main issue is, between distros gnome can change wildly, for instance if you install just base gnome, not Ubuntus version etc it's very different.
That's just my opinion though, I like that clean appearance of gnome and it's what brought in the habit of pressing super and typing for what I want but it's definitely not something I'd recommend for new Linux users
Personal_Nebula_5821@reddit
If I have a desktop, I would prefer KDE. If I have a laptop, Gnome all day. Gnome feels like home for me while using with touchpad but I would very much not prefer it without touchpad. Maybe there are just more desktop users who had a very not so pleasant experience with gnome?
France_linux_css@reddit
I can't drag and drop on minimized app Dolphin is much better. You can make a gnome look on kde
whattteva@reddit
It's selection bias. People generally only participate in these discussions if they're either very happy or they're not very happy. People in the middle who are pretty happy or mildly annoyed aren't going to be found here.
A_Chilean_Cyborg@reddit
I like cinnamon over KDE or GNOME
DragonAttackForce@reddit
Gnome can come across as hostile to other projects. Whether that's dropping support for system trays, server side decorations or theming support to blend into other desktops.
Gnome Devs are on record of telling app developers they need to target gnome specifically. The hostility is met with hostility.
lalanalahilara@reddit
Define 'people'
MechanicalTurkish@reddit
Soylent Green is people.
jebuizy@reddit
Most prolly do not hate gnome. Just drive loud mouths on forums. It is probably the most used DEc on Linux still
elevenblue@reddit
The problem is that gnome in many parts still seems to be an UX experiment instead of a stable environment. It is stable however in terms of (not-)crashing compared to other DEs in my experience, and by now relatively light weight while offering most of the everyday features in the UI such as printing, bluetooth configuration, vpn configuration, etc. - which I found typically lacking or late-adopted into more lightweight environments such as XFCE. Same for things like simple access to sftp, smb or other network protocols in the file manager, or easy mounting of luks encrypted external disks.
Sadly, sometimes Gnome is often still non-intuitive, and some basic functions only work if you lookup keyboard shortcuts. Example: it took me a while to figure out that I can edit the path in the file manager when pressing Ctrl+L, but not when clicking on it. In my opinion that's very user-unfriendly design. Why can't they also assign an action when clicking into the empty space of the address path? That's a very non-sensical UI design example, and unfortunately there are a few more of these.
m1k3e@reddit
There are some things that I appreciate about Gnome (display scaling actually works well in my preferred virtual machine software UTM, polkit isn’t broken over RDP, etc.). My issue is that I really don’t understand how they expect me to use the system day-to-day. The classic windowing/desktop metaphor with desktop icons, a dock/taskbar, minimize/maximize buttons, a menu bar, etc. has been familiar to many users over the past 30+ years. I really don’t understand how they expect me (or a novice even!) to use their DE. Why the hell would you remove min/max buttons? The design still doesn’t make sense to me unless you add extensions to improve usability. I’m not asking for a thousand switches and sliders to tweak like KDE 🤷♂️
devHead1967@reddit
I don't hate Gnome, I love it.
Irsu85@reddit
Not everyone hates gnome, I kinda like it. The only thing I don't like about GNOME is that it kinda uses a lot of ram but thats only a small issue when you have 32GB
MustangBarry@reddit
RAM use isn't an issue anyway. That's what it's for.
that_leaflet@reddit
There's a difference between a program using a lot of RAM because it's making good use of it (like caching data) and a program using a lot of RAM because it's wasting it (memory leaks, loading unnecessary things, poor coding).
Which one Gnome falls undo, I do not know.
TheLastTreeOctopus@reddit
I mean yeah... But a desktop environment (ideally) shouldn't use a ton of it. Folks still working with only 4 to 8 GB of RAM (or less), will appreciate having as much RAM as possible useable for running programs and multitasking. No sense in having a desktop environment that uses nearly 25% of your RAM just doing nothing but displaying your desktop, when you don't have a lot of RAM to work with.
hyperbrainer@reddit
Yeah, I run a machine with HDD and 8GB DDR3 with a i5-6200U. Even KDE felt slow sometimes, but Gnome was just as bad as windows in terms of response times.
TheLastTreeOctopus@reddit
What do you use? I'm back on Windows for the moment, but sometimes I really miss using Openbox! It was so snappy and just looked and felt great to use!
hyperbrainer@reddit
I am currently on XMonad because I caught the Haskell bug, but I also like hyprland for the future. DWM too looks nice.
Irsu85@reddit
That's why I prefer KDE for lower RAM computers, it uses a lot less (I got it under 1GB without doing much optimizations once, while with GNOME it's a lot closer to 3GB very quickly))
redd1ch@reddit
For applications, yes. For infrastructure, not so much. An idle, usable system should use as less resources as possible.
Krunch007@reddit
Why are you using a DE for infrastructure? A headless machine wouldn't need it.
redd1ch@reddit
I don't run my linux boxes to look at pretty desktops, I run them to perform a certain task. For some tasks, I need a GUI/desktop, therefore a DE is infrastructure.
If I can't complete a task with one OS/DE, and the same hardware with different infrastructure on top can handle it, it saves putting hard cash into new hardware. Why does that remind me of a certain Windows box and large 3D models?
NintendoOfChina@reddit
Shouldn't a window manager be a better choice then?
redd1ch@reddit
If you want to optimize every bit, yes. Depends on how frequent you have a certain workload, and how much you have to relearn and how much muscle memory you can build.
lillecarl@reddit
I think he's referring to the DE as "infrastructure". A thing you have to run, not a thing you want to run.
ObscureSegFault@reddit
Huh, about a year ago I managed to get Gnome running on Arch on a 2008 4GB RAM iMac. It ran surprisingly okay. Until you launched a browser, what with them being memory hogs.
Irsu85@reddit
For that use case I do prefer KDE since it uses about half the RAM as GNOME. As soon as your DE uses more than half of your RAM and then opening chrome makes it swap, you should be looking for a lighter DE or if you are really low on RAM, maybe a WM
darthrafa512@reddit
I love Gnome. It's elegant and simple. I spend most of my time working with VMs and headless servers, so I don't have the need to customize my DE as much as others.
I also have opinions about Microsoft, and in my opinion, it's one of the few that doesn't have Windows motifs as a transition for Windows users.
BestRetroGames@reddit
Because I hate Apple mentality (like it or leave it) in anything, and especially in free open source SW which is supposed to be the opposite.
Sure , lock people into doing it your way but don't act surprised if some people like a small thing called freedom.
Mr_Lumbergh@reddit
Back when I used gnome, it seemed like the thing was designed by Fisher-Price. In that time, it hasn’t improved much.
Constant_Peach3972@reddit
I think people who complain about gnome don't want to learn its workflow and prefer a windows-like approach of desktop.
Otoh gnome users are probably not as vocal as some others, as they just install it and get to work.
Garlic-Excellent@reddit
That's funny. I always thought of Gnome as more Windows like. I wonder what you are talking about.
The first thing Gnome did that caused me to switch away was Windows like, at least at the time.
I don't think this is true anymore but back in the day when you clicked a folder in Windows file explorer the default behavior was to open that folder in a new window. My tendency was to have a lot of subdirectories so this resulted in either an extra step of closing the old window or a mess of open windows.
I hated that.
The first thing I did on every new Windows install was to change that setting. But Gnome's fike manager did the same thing and hid the setting away in it's registry. I looked through all the menu options, there were barely any settings offered to the user and certainly not the one thing I wanted to change.
KDE's Konqueror had the opposite setting as default AND was easy to change if for some weird reason you actually liked that behavior.
The next difference that stood out to me was the one click behavior of KDE vs Gnome/Windows' double click. It took a moment to get used to it but I came to like it. Again, Gnome was the Windows-like one, KDE was different.
Constant_Peach3972@reddit
The single click is a detail. Gnome emphasizes one app per workspace approach. To open an app you hit win key, type 2-3 letters etc. it's quite keyboard centric. On kde, you have all your apps in bottom bar, a start menu etc, just like windows.
leaflock7@reddit
Gnome is most used DE at the moment , so you can hardly say it is hated.
these are the main negatives for me:
* no basic bar functionality, icon tray for example.
* No consistently on theming. even gnome apps have issues. Not to mention that the Gnome team does not do any job to support qt apps.
* Extensions are hit or miss, and pray to god that they will continue to work on the next update. Without extensions it is worse than MacOS
* Gnome Devs do not listen to user feedback.
* Resource usage is high, and it feels sluggish.
There are plenty of good things as well, but they do not outweigh the negative ones.
Dry_Inspection_4583@reddit
Because it doesn't feel intuitive or natural to me, I feel in gnome like I'm just hunting for things always and forever. I'm not settled on any single one, each has their own set of frustrations. I typically stick with xfce or KDE for desktop stuff depending on the hardware.
Thanatos375@reddit
I'm all about users having options. GNOME's got a place in the world, and I can respect how well their in-house apps are integrated. As for my own use, I've tried it many times over the years, but KDE just jives better with how I operate, DE-wise. If GNOME works for you, don't let anyone's opinion sway that.
roberp81@reddit
Most people problems with Gnome are from Wayland and not Gnome
mr-ow1@reddit
It’s bloated but I don’t hate it. I prefer to use a window manager.
Specialist_Cow_2002@reddit
The file manager is very slow. Copying files from USB takes 10 times more than command line or even Windows Explorer.
ephemeral_resource@reddit
At this point I haven't tried it in a really long time. I mostly went KDE for some of the reasons people mentioned here. I kind of want to try it again, but also, I kind of want to go to something built for tiling next time I bother to change things up.
JaKrispy72@reddit
For me, it has to do with workflow. With GNOME, I feel like I’m wearing figurative handcuffs. I’ve been in Windows so long, it’s habit. That’s why I use Cinnamon. When I try to use a MAC, I feel like I’m drowning in quicksand.
eggbad@reddit
I don't hate gnome. I think it looks great on 4k screens anything below that resolution tho is too "touch ui-ish" tons of padding, the title bar on apps are not appealing to me, and not the best audio input/output switcher. Not a fan of having to download gnome tweaks for some settings as well.Very surface level things really.
UncomprehendingGun@reddit
I love gnome
Mordynak@reddit
To summarise.
KDE users hate Gnome because they feel they have to justify how much time they have wasted configuring KDE. When Gnome users can just log in and get to work.
If you don't like it. Stick to something else.
Instead of constantly shitting on it, try being constructive with your feedback.
Douchehelm@reddit
I don't think many people hate GNOME, hate is a very strong word...
I don't like it simply because I find the interface bulky and weird to use nowadays, especially opening a full screen menu to find apps. I'm saying nowadays because GNOME 2 and the versions before that was better in my opinion.
I also don't like that it's not very customizable. If you don't like the workflow out of the box there's not that much you can do without installing extensions and extensions can break or just stop being supported one day.
What GNOME does really well is virtual desktops. I also appreciate all that GNOME does for Linux and FOSS.
PhilGood_@reddit
I’ve been using it for the past two years so I don’t hate it :)
HyperGamers@reddit
Bluetooth stopped working whenever my laptop woke from sleep. Required reboot to fix
hendricha@reddit
For me its two fold:
flat design and now thanks to libadwaita its way too weird to override, compared to gnome 2 when I joined the Linux world and it was one of the coolest things that changing themes is just baked into the environment and everything followed it
you can't just tell the panel to just draw everything the same way on every screen. (There is an unofficial multi screen extension that while creates a new panel it does not copy every plugin/extension to every screen)
whosdr@reddit
I think I'd put myself more in a libadwaita hate camp than anything.
I dislike GNOME, but I hate the forced use of libadwaita themes.
im_sad_send_boobs@reddit
Everyone hates Gnome? I feel like it's pretty much the standard right now, but I can tell you why I am not interested in Gnome.
The application drawer thing is clearly designed with a touchscreen interface in mind, which I don't have or want for my desktop (and is one of the things everyone hated about Windows 8). I understand you can change that with extensions, but why bother when I can just get something much closer to what I want with another DE?
I know the world has long been under the "mobile-first" philosophy, and I can understand why, but my desktop is not a mobile device. Until they move away from that, Gnome just flat out isn't for me. We are just on very different pages.
dgm9704@reddit
No they don't. What is it with these recent "why does everyone hate xxx" posts? What is your source for this? A few posts on reddit? A youtube video? This sort of stuff really chaps my ass. Not everyone likes everything. People have different usecases and needs likes etc. That is why there are options. If some people say something negative about something, it doesn't mean that they "hate it" or that it is "everyone". I have tried Gnome, it wasn't right for me so I use something else. Who are you to say that it is "mostly without a reason" sheesh.
Zaphoidx@reddit
Mental people upvote this stuff
100GHz@reddit
Clickbait title, bot account.
b_a_t_m_4_n@reddit
It's comment bait to drive engagement.
Alpha-Craft@reddit
I do love the design of GNOME, but it was way too laggy on my actually really powerful system and certain things worked way to different to what I expect. Even after customizing with shell extensions, I still had a fair share of issues. Plasma isn't perfect either, but at least I had used it for longer and it worked better in my experience.
DooMRunneR@reddit
Not a gnome user, but I heard a lot of people crying about breaking extensions on each and every update.
Yot5uya@reddit
I'm using GNOME and i don't like it. But i don't like KDE more so...
gabriel_3@reddit
"everyone" is largerly too much.
UPPERKEES@reddit
I love GNOME.
Joeyheads@reddit
I like gnome.
Linux4ever_Leo@reddit
I wouldn't consider myself a hater of Gnome but it just doesn't do it for me. Back in the old days I enjoyed using Gnome 2.x (and later MATE) but these days I prefer KDE because it is hugely flexible and puts almost full control in the hands of its users. Gnome on the other hand seems to think its users are inept or incompetent to decide what they want so it forces users to do things it's way. I probably didn't articulate that well enough but I hope you get what I'm trying to say.
ben2talk@reddit
I don't think they do.
I haven't used it for a long time, I'm happy with Plasma.
balazsbotond@reddit
I’ve switched to KDE from GNOME recently. It was a death by a thousand cuts. Lots of little changes that came out with each new version in the name of user friendliness and minimalism. They are trying to copy Apple’s thoughtful design without the thoughtfulness. They seem to hate their existing user base and change things up freely in the most annoying ways possible.
gain91@reddit
Not sure if everyone hates it, but I used Gnome 2. And remember when Gnome 3 was introduced, it was like switching to a new Desktop Environment. KDE to Plasma was less of a change, at least from my memory(could be wrong though), but at least it wasn't like Gnome. Btw am also KDE loyalist and use other DE like LXDE or XFCE if the machine cannot handle KDE lmao.
BarryTownCouncil@reddit
Everyone doesn't hate gnome. Stop it.
Bitter_Dog_3609@reddit
I love Gnome.
samdimercurio@reddit
There isn't a huge wave of Gnome haters out there. Its likely just some vocal content creators. IIRC Gnome is still the most commonly used DE for desktop linux users (I could be wrong on that though).
DoubleOwl7777@reddit
it looks stupid imho, the "we know whats best for you" attitude from the devs doesnt help its case.
TryHardEggplant@reddit
I miss the GNOME2 environment! I got really used to it for a long time.
And now I just use whatever. KDE, Gnome, or just using Mac/Windows and SSHing into my Linux boxes. Whatever fits my workflow or is just included with the Distro. The less time dealing with configuration, the better.
mark_g_p@reddit
Gnome is to rigid in its design. I feel like I’m in a closed ecosystem. If I want a closed ecosystem I got windows and Mac.
skankhunt51@reddit
I like GNOME. I've used it on and off for the last 24 years.
Recently, I seem to want a few extensions to be happy. Extensions and GNOME itself being updated with breaking changes at different rates makes me a very sad panda.
Blockstar@reddit
It is lonely at the top.
apo--@reddit
First, some people like me 'hate' the so called UX design, the proposed 'workflow'. I also 'hated' how certain things looked. Some of the annoynces were the result of Gtk3 limitations and design decisions.
A contributing factor was the attitude of many Gnome developers especially when Gnome 3 was released and a number of years after that.
Now a lot of things have gotten better, a few worse. I don't think it is worse than KDE Plasma objectively. Both have positives and negatives.
I like a few things like the icons.
I am also 'opinionated' by the way but I could think of multiple paradigms I would prefer.
Dalnore@reddit
I've been using KDE on my home machine and GNOME on my work machine for several years now just to follow the development of both Even though I appreciate what both teams have been doing, I prefer GNOME. It has also been less problematic with to Wayland.
traverseda@reddit
I work in a professional setting, and I see my coworkers struggle with Gnome's nonsense. Things like needing to remember a keyboard shortcut to be able to edit the file path in nautilus. I think Gnome has done a tremendous disservice to the linux community by significantly raising the barriers to entry for new users.
My grandparents use KDE, my tech-illiterate cousin uses KDE, people say that KDE's customization is too complicated, but none of those people are actually customizing KDE. It's a non-issue.
By trying to give themselves a unique identity, and honestly not being that good at it, they've made it much harder for users to migrate. Sure, by default KDE works a fair bit like windows, but I don't understand why people think that's a bad thing.
Chafmere@reddit
I really like gnome. I like the way it looks it’s clean. I use from time to time but I always go back to kde. It’s just less restrictive on how you can interact with it. And I can emulate the look.
steventechno@reddit
I don't hate it personally, I feel it's great for laptops and tablet hybrids, but it feels awkward on a multi-monitor desktop.
I prefer KDE overall, but if I have a laptop that supports multi touch gestures, I'll use it there as it feels natural on a laptop, almost like it was made with laptops specifically in mind.
Aktanith@reddit
I hate their little hats, and they keep sneaking into my garden and making a mess.
Electronic-Future-12@reddit
It is the most popular DE, so I wouldn’t say everyone hates it, more like a loud minority dislikes it.
I think it’s a good DE, good performance, visually pleasant and very consistent. However it is true that it is custom to very specific workflows that might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
dbfuentes@reddit
I don't hate gnome, in fact I used gnome 2 in the past as my main desktop, but when they moved to gnome 3 I slowly started using alternatives
since gnome 3 they have oversimplified the desktop, hiding or eliminating functions in each new release, and they have focused too much on making it tablet-friendly, to the detriment of those who use a mouse.
Jedibeeftrix@reddit
I'm a windows user, kde is simply 'familiar' in a way that Gnome is not.
I wonder if the greater popularity of MacOS in the US (vis-a-vis Windows), means that this familiarity is less a drag on Gnome adoption.
OSSLover@reddit
I used Gnome 2, Mate and Cinnamon before I switched to XFCE years ago and maybe will switch to KDE later.
The reason I hated Gnome 3 / Unity back then was their focus on a touch UI.
I'm a mouse user and need my Startmenu I'm used to in Gnome 2 / Windows XP / Windows 7.
I also use Classic Shell in Windows 10/11.
Does Gnome 3 finally use a startmenu without depending on an external plugin which can make break with a gnome update?
ghjm@reddit
Several times, Gnome has arbitrarily decided to remove functionality that I'd been using for years. Everything else is worse, so I still use it, but the developers have a weird vision of how people ought to use the system that I don't agree with. I wouldn't call this "hate" but I definitely wish there was something better out there.
SilenceiKillz@reddit
For me GNOME is my favorite DE. A few years ago I would distro hop several times in a week. The DE that always seemed like home was GNOME. To me the design makes sense and it really seems to get out of my way. I do use some extensions to make it look the way I want but that’s just a thing with Linux. Plasma would be my second choice but it reminds me too much of Windows.
marrow_monkey@reddit
I guess it's because it's not particularly configurable.
notnullnone@reddit
As the number of users increases, the number of lovers and haters both increases. It's math.
housepanther2000@reddit
I dunno. I happen to like Gnome. But my preferred desktop environment is Cinnamon.
Salad-Soggy@reddit
Because they have nothing better to do. Stop shitting on projects by (mostly) unpaid volunteers for the sake of it you morons
nuffens@reddit
I will say I'm frustrated with extensions breaking. don't hate gnome though, the gestures are a great feature
Internal-Bed-4094@reddit
Its basically like Mac os. People that turn on their computer to open a browser and maybe an email client think "wow this is so polished, everything looks similar" but when you actually have to use your pc, you will end up having to install third party software (extensions) for most basic features. And then it just gets messy as hell.
lowban@reddit
Nothing wrong with Gnome if you like it. I like it too.
pedersenk@reddit
To understand this dislike of Gnome. You must personally try Gnome 2. Just grab an old distro livecd and have a play around.
You will see how much of a regression Gnome 3+ really is.
Tallon_raider@reddit
People hate on gnome because its made by the enterprise linux giants.
tomscharbach@reddit
Who cares? Opinions about Gnome, one way or the other, have no effect on my use case and negative opinions take no skin off my butt. What astounds me is that "Gnome-haters" waste time telling everyone about it, as if that made a difference to anyone.
githman@reddit
Besides Gnome and KDE, what other DEs have you tried? Asking this because with years passing I moved on from both: each DE has its own ideology. The point is not in hating others' choices but in finding what works for you.
Gnome without extensions is easily the most stable DE around, which is why corporate distros have it by default. However, Gnome without extensions requires more mousework than I have patience for. Gnome with extensions is more convenient but stability becomes a problem.
Plasma is all about options, sometimes at the cost of stability. I do not need so many options, nor do I like surprises early in the morning. I don't use Plasma.
And so on. Long story short, I found my lesser evil in Cinnamon but I do not hate others' choices because of it.
redsteakraw@reddit
I don’t like its basic configuration you either do it their way or you have a mess of janky extensions that can beak on any update. Sorry but I like flexibility and not some dumbed down force fed work flow. If you like the default then fine but it dot work for me.
Furthermore I prefer SSD to CSD and I like the default app’s better in KDE, KATE is better than gedit and I like that the apps have more configuration options. It is like going from a Steele Battalion controller to a fisher price toy if you are used to the control you don’t want to be limited.
Lastly KDE is better with games, KWin has always been better with games and now with HDR and other new developments and collaborations with valve /steam deck it is just cementing it’s position.
Redneckia@reddit
Every day there's a new post on this sub "why does everyone hate (insert something that nobody even hates here)"
Tomorrow on r/Linux,
"Why does everyone hate Linux??"
Kabopu@reddit
I think most people don't hate Gnome (In fact the silent majority just uses it and doesn't dwell on Linux forums) but some just hate the fact that it has become the default for most distros and shapes the Linux ecosystem with it's big market share. Add to this that since the release of Gnome 3, there's the widespread believe that the Gnome project has a "my way or the highway" attitude. While I have had some frustrating interactions with some Gnome devs in the past, I can't really comment if this widespread believe is really justified.
BoltLayman@reddit
There is a suspicion that mostly Gnome team was tamed by big donators and put in some limits not to do "my way highway" because there are adult users in Enterprise.
brajandzesika@reddit
Why everyone hates marshmallows? Why everyone hates cold beer? Why everyone hates weekends? Why ????
Fuckspez42@reddit
It’s so much less customizable than something like KDE, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
I don’t tend to use KDE, mostly because it has so many configuration/customization options that I never really feel like I’m finished monkeying around with it.
GNOME does what GNOME does, and it works very well with my workflow & preferences.
BoltLayman@reddit
This is the same reason. Back in early 2000s it was interesting to use it and poke around, but I was almost 25 years younger too.
Or.. it might be great change in human-computer interaction workflow, where modern monitors have enough space for one app which are focused on. At least macOS and mobileOS-es have their great influence on what users prefer. I would name it "unibody" experience, where you know how to use modern interfaces and know how to switch tasks.
Garlic-Excellent@reddit
Gnome to me is just like KDE if one took every setting, every choice and made the default be exactly opposite of my own preferences. Then took the setting and hid it deep in a Windows like registry rather than a logically organized settings menu. With dislike of the registry being one of the reasons I switched to Linux in the first place.
I suppose if your preferences are different and more like those of the Gnome developers that might not be so bad. I can't imagine such preferences leading to a very good work for though
darkwyrm42@reddit
Don't confuse loud complainers with 'everyone'. GNOME is opinionated and not everyone likes the choices made for the environment. Personally, it's my favorite.
clavenax@reddit
I like gnome.
alkatori@reddit
Interesting.
As a user: KDE works the way I like and is familiar. Gnome isn't bad necessarily. But I don't naturally work the way it wants me to.
As a developer KDE being native c++ intrigues me more than GTK and it's GObject system.
Shadowz_Zero@reddit
I hate more other DEs, i like Gnome since its just simple and it works for me. I understand that people hate it since it lacks same customization as example KDE. Also reason why i like Gnome is that its just way different than Windows style.
Frird2008@reddit
If you use your computer for anything work or business-related, gnome is the most reliable choice before cinnamon. That's why on all the Fedora & Ubuntu-based distros I've partitioned on the four computers I use for my business, gnome is the default when you log in, then you have KDE (which I've prioritized as the last-resort option for if all the other desktop environments fail), MATE, Cinnamon & XFCE.
But if you use your computer for personal or gaming purposes where reliability & mission-critical functions aren't a necessity, gnome is kind of crap in the customizability department & I would choose KDE as the top choice in that scenario.
ex1tiumi@reddit
GNOME devs are ***holes from what I've heard. They want to do their own thing and integrating new features requires five years of discussions back and forth because there is always someone in the inner circle who thinks that some feature isn't needed if the devs themselves do not have use for it.
I'd rather KDE Plasma since they actually move forward with things like wayland support and new desktop features like tiling and stuff. Plasma 6 is gonna be great.
SSYT_Shawn@reddit
I prefer GNOME because Plasma 6 isn't released yet and i don't want to use latte dock as i forgot how it works and i can't find anything online and and and and and it's not actively worked on anymore and GNOME just works and when plasma 6 is out and then i will probably still wait since the first release would still be unstable.. but it doesn't really matter since i am currently in a debloated windows environment for music production (installed on a second drive btw)
BoltLayman@reddit
Nope, mostly experienced users do not hate Gnome.
There are just great concerns about its usability decisions that sometimes do cause harm to user experience and expectations.
Generally the DE is pretty usable and might be considered being on par with smartphone UI/UX routine. At least PoPOS and Ubuntu modified versions aren't much worse than Windows and macOS.
FryBoyter@reddit
If everyone would hate Gnome, nobody would use Gnome. However, many distributions use Gnome as a standard and these distributions are also used by many users. So not everyone hates Gnome.
Then just use Gnome. If you like Gnome, you shouldn't care that some people don't like Gnome.
Apart from that, in such a case the so-called loud or vocal minority must be assumed. Those who are satisfied with something are usually much less vocal than those who are not.
Promethilaus@reddit
Lmfao true tho personally i use kde and it works for me
mrgarborg@reddit
I like GNOME, but they really should be better about not breaking contracts, like with their extensions api. I don’t like upgrading GNOME only to have all my extensions disabled.
_CatsOnMars_@reddit
I like it, it's my fav de
NorthStarZero@reddit
We don’t.
Mister_Magister@reddit
Because Gnome
1) runs like shit
2) looks like shit
3) eats a ton of ram
4) programming for it is shit holy shit i despise glib with every inch of my existance, getting anything done with glib is pain, understandinig anything in glib is pain, and the fact that pulseaudio and others is also using glib is not helping it, meanwhile qt has qml, everything is written objectively in c++ instead of c, life is glorious
nozendk@reddit
I don't hate it, just prefer KDE
Nick_Noseman@reddit
I admit, I am a Gnome hater, because it reminds me of Mac. I have nothing to back that hatred.
ousee7Ai@reddit
I dont know, i like gnome, maybe you just see the 1% of ppl who hate it and the other 99% doesnt make much noise?
whosdr@reddit
It's worth pointing out that there are also those of us in the camp that hate it but also don't make much noise.
I consider GNOME to be the Marmite of the Linux DE world.
Moo-Crumpus@reddit
I love it, so how dare you claim that "everyone" hates gnome, stupid!
Tux-Lector@reddit
Who is everyone ? Some dude was noisy back then when he didn't knew how to install his Nvidia GPU drivers and since then Gnome is awful .. ? I personally don't use Gnome and that's primarely because of QT being pretty much more superior framework than GTK. But I could cope with it if there's no other option (for some reason). I personally think that KDE is much more meaner, leaner and snappier than Gnome. Someone wrote that QT applications are slow and takes ages to start. Well, all I can say is that's missinformation. At least with Plasma 5.27 and above. In fact, Plasma 5.27* can use less resources than xfce, whether one wants to believe or not. I am not talking about full-fledged KDE Plasma experience.
McLayan@reddit
I don't like the 'one desktop one window' approach and missing ability to switch between them. Also opening an overlay over the whole screen when opening a new application is not something I enjoy. Screens are constantly getting wider while websites constantly get narrower. Opening a browser maximized makes no sense.
GamerXP27@reddit
i do like gnome its just when you want to change like icons or make all apps dark its anyoing I have to install gnome-tweaks.
eawardie@reddit
I haven't used it after 44, and I actually like it. It just seems like it's missing the most obvious feature a DE needs out-of-the-box. And since extensions are a crutch, it doesn't seem like those features will ever be added to base GNOME.
Solid_Lettuce3367@reddit
> and honestly I prefer it.
Because they don't prefer it and are vocal against it. I don't prefer it but I like its looks, and love the fact that we have options. Might use it in some cases. For instance it looks mad cool on OLED laptop screens in my view. But I don't like that it feels too rigid. I like moving panels around and customising things. But that's my personal preference. Some people like to express their preferences a bit louder, while some have valid criticism and are loud because they care, which is great. We all win.
sindex_@reddit
It's my daily driver because I like it more than the alternatives with extensions, but I don't like it without at least a dock and extensions break after every upgrade which is a pain with a rolling release distribution like Arch. It's also the worst performing desktop environment I've ever used on any OS and it's been that way since 2011, albeit greatly improved, I'm still using the X11 session and one of the reasons is that the shell invariably slows down after some time and I have to restart it.
dankobg@reddit
I love it and i used KDE for like 3-4 years but switched.
It looks sleek, consistent, it's simple and it works. KDE always looked cluttered and had million options and i could never find what i wanted anyway, and i don't care about customizing, i care about doing stuff. Also i installed some dictionary once and it deleted my boot files somehow and i got tired of it.
Never had issues on fedora
dRaidon@reddit
I like gnome☹️
ro55mo@reddit
I tried it over a couple of weeks but either that was not enough time to break my ingrained habits or it just wasn't suitable for how I like to work.
I don't hate it. It's pretty, polished and smooth. I am glad it exists but it just not for me.
Aginor404@reddit
I haven't used gnome in ten years or so (I work with servers and GUIs are ballast, I only recently installed a desktop linux again and it uses xfce), but to me the reasons to not like it (hate is too strong of a word though) was that it had a macOS look and feel to me, and that for some reason there were no settings for many things I wanted to do (KDE had them) and application compatibility wasn't great.
pizat1@reddit
I always liked the KDE themes in v1-3. Now idc I can use both.
atomcurt@reddit
I like Gnome, but I’ve been using KDE recently because of VRR support since I game a lot. I personally don’t understand how this isn’t an absolute deal breaker for gamers. My OLED will love the coming HDR support too, but I understand this could be supported in Gnome pretty soon too.
qualia-assurance@reddit
They don't. It's just the default option for a number of popular distros so you encounter people asking to change it more often. If KDE was the default you'd encounter people who would prefer gnome more complain.
rocketstopya@reddit
I prefer Gnome because it's nice and easy, but KDE will win this match. Qt is superior in app development.
Captain-Thor@reddit
I primarily use GNOME, because I like the Ubuntu-desktop workflow.
naikologist@reddit
I don't like the window border menus. I dont like bars on top or at the side of my screen. I don't like the dynamic workspaces.
I have no hate for GNOME, I just do not use it.
Educational-Kiwi8740@reddit
I just like window managers, easier to move around, I hate loose window shit, like windows. I like to see and be in control of what's happening and knowing where stuff is, not trying to figure out under how many windows the window I'm looking for is. (I use a lot of programs at the same time)
kernpanic@reddit
I hate it because all of my linux machines are virtual and most are accessed remotely. Its problematic. The speed sucks. And it doesnt do anything better than window managers from the 90s.
thegreenman_sofla@reddit
I haven't used it in 12 or so years, so I don't have an opinion.
amir_s89@reddit
Over the years while being a Ubuntu LTS user with Gnome as standard desktop environment, my perception is that its gradually improved. Various innovations have matured, some ideas work others don't, while overall it's been further more stable.
I had my complaints in the past, but these I wrote down with bug reports, images, etc. sent these to dev teams of various projects. So that's something I learned. Being truthful & understand what the dev teams try to accomplish ex this year. Send over my statistics data as this could improve overall quality in the long term.
Disappointments happen, but complaining is childish. Having constructive dialog can create solutions where everyone benefits from.
Incremental innovations are magical.
Hartvigson@reddit
I prefer KDE and have always done so. My impression is that more people usually prefer Gnome over KDE.
Saying that though I have never seen any numbers on how many actually actively HATES either KDE or Gnome. Where did you get "everyone" from??
bitspace@reddit
I don't. I use Gnome, or the Pop!_OS variant of it.
It stays out of my way.
jerry2255@reddit
I think it's just vocal minority.