I test KDE each couple of years: install it on my current OS or in VM, trying to change theme/move panel, get a crash shortly after, then delete it. Even “kde neon” that was supposedly polished distro from devs themselves, crashed within could of minutes in my hands.

Maybe it just my hands, but Gnome never does that.

Gnome. I am often tempted to switch to kde because it is often ahead in terms of adopting new technologies, but gnome is just more comfortable to use. And I was not able to customize kde to have gnome-like workflow.

I used KDE for years only recently switched to Niri, what I can say for KDE is I don’t have to dicking around config files and nice features that are missing from other WM/DE like ICC profiles and HDR also very easy to customize. The reason I switch is because KDE getting too good and boring and using Niri reminded me when I use Linux for the first time again (same with switching from Windows to Linux because Windows is boring and barely customizable and cuntpilot)

GNOME visually reminds me of iPadOS (not good) and just hasn’t been as intuitive as KDE. Both are usable, KDE just came easier to me.

I’ve used both pretty extensively (years daily driving each) but these days I just use stock KDE, with maybe a couple little adjustments to the taskbar. I like both. I can adapt to different desktop workflows, GNOME’s is good, but I found myself always using plugins to make it work more like a windows desktop. I generally like the KDE suite of default applications a lot more than GNOME’s, like Dolphin is just a better file manager than nautilus. And if I’m going to use KDE applications and a windows-styled desktop layout, at that point I might as well just use KDE.

GNOME expects the user to adapt to the workflow its developers have in mind. It’s the desktop environment that should adapt to me, not the other way around.

Plus, I love customization and theming. But GTK app developers create angry websites where they try to shame me for it.

I tried Gnome a few times, last time maybe 3 years ago, but it just is not the right environment for me. It feels strange and everything is so complicated (most likely because I’m not used to it) and it is so limited when it comes to features and customization.

My first graphic OS was GEOS on the C64 back then, followed by Amiga Workbench, then different flavours of Windows. Using Linux with KDE just feels natural, it has the same usage paradigms and flows as all the OS/Environments I used before.

I had to use MacOSX for some time at work and I had the same issues with it that I had with Gnome, everything was a fight, nothing felt right or was at the place where it has to be.

One adapts to me.

The other requires me to adapt to it.

GNOME. It’s clean, I like it, and I don’t feel the need to customize it.

Gnome always felt too basic and minimalist. KDE feels powerful and like I can do anything I want. On KDE I don’t ask myself “can i do this?”, I ask myself “how do I do this?”

When I got back to Linux some years back, I tried using GNOME because I had had good experiences with GNOME 2. Modern GNOME is awful, terribly opinionated and - in my view - has actual usability issues. Every interaction with the DE felt like pulling teeth and I didn’t enjoy it one bit. GNOME Classic was better, but even that never felt quite right. At the time I wanted to use Wayland and therefore had limited options, so for the first time ever I tried Plasma, and I immediately found it to my liking. With only a few small cosmetic tweaks it felt like home. Things made sense to me and everything was where it should be - more or less; nothing’s perfect. Since then I’ve looked at other options, but Plasma usually has one feature or another that alternative desktops lack or struggle with. So for now I’m sticking with Plasma, and I have no real reason to look elsewhere.

To be sure, I don’t hate on anyone who prefers GNOME, it’s just not my cup of tea. Not by a long shot. Use what works for your use case.

I like gnome, but, switched back to kde because the extensions I needed broke last fedora update.

I love cosmic, but the keyboard focus doesn’t always follow into the correct tab, which was also a deal breaker

The only real issue I have with kde, is Google drive integration isn’t baked in at the moment. But, I just use the website, and there were plenty of other solutions I could use too

Typically I’ll stick with Plasma till they bork it, then switch to GNOME til I get bored and see what’s up with Plasma these days. I’ll sometimes try some others out, but typically it’s those two.

Gnome lost a lot of functions when streamlining, just compare Dolphin to Nautilus, and instead of fighting their vision I went for a DE that works the way I want.
I love information density and easily get hooked on spreadsheet games, I feel as if that is the exact opposite of the Gnome vision.

edit: I prefer Gnome for touch only devices like Microsoft Surface Pro 7 without physical kbm.

The lizard is cute