I know it was a bit naïve of me, but my gosh, did I ever not expect that Linux folks On The Internet to be so full of passionate about ensuring that software defaults reflect their personal preferences.
It's probably that I just like Gnome, even if the defaults are a bit pared down for my tastes.
And if extensions weren't able to give me what I want, there are like 100,000 other desktop environments, window managers, and terminals I could choose from to meet my needs. Even the highly idiosyncratic ones.
(Like recapturing the magic I found in e16, c. 1999-2003.)
Of course, much of the time, these arguments aren't about software or personal preferences at all.
January 12, 2026