What motivates you to choose a DE/WM?

[Melber]

Started out with MX xfce because it was the first distro I could get to work reliably on an ancient laptop. Quickly moved to MX fluxbox because it ran even better.
The only problem was that I hated the ugly default fluxbox styles, so I started fiddling with some config files to see if I could get it to look better and haven't stopped fiddling since.
I seem to be an outlier in that I enjoy constantly changing the appearance and setup...

[kobaian]

When I moved from Windows XP to the Linux world - XFCE was my DE of choice. I think this DE is a reasonable choice for all newcomers, because it is quite easy to learn for Windows users, it is fast, stable and very customizable. I still think it has almost everything I need for everyday work.
I tried KDE for a while and I was somehow impressed by some of its features, there are many things I don't like about it. First of all, it is of course very customizable, but it is not so easy to learn. Some of the KDE-developers' choices, where to hide some settings are not understandable for me. I don't like also all these bloated KDE-apps, full of redundant features like page preview in simple text editors, image-browsers that need much more time to launch than Gimp or Darktable, instead of being quick and handy, lots of features that does not work at all like Google-Drive connections etc. KDE lacks of XFCE's stability. It is very easy to install an extension or widget that will destroy your desktop. That's why I find KDE is not for me.
I also tried LXDE for a while and it was ok, like a poor brother of XFCE.
Now I'm using MX-Fluxbox and it is now my personal favorite. I like that I can customize everything as I wish: menus, fluxbox-styles, application-windows look and behavior, the panel, the Rofi-Appfinder separately, not fully relying on others choices. I like, that it is customizable in the way I like the best: by editing configuration files digging deeper under the UI surface. By creating my personal desktop-environment for my needs I feel I'm expanding my general knowledge about Linux, scripting, CSS etc. MX-Fluxbox is lightweight, rather simple, comparing to other window managers, but very powerful at once.

[FinalFox420]

I have experimented with many WM's, I always come back to XFCE light, fast, easy.
I like being able to use my keyboard OR mouse for almost everything in XFCE maximum efficiency based on where my hands already are or if I'm eating.

For a "complete" GUI system I pretty much always use XFCE with some kind of theme.

If I want something light I use https://github.com/mackstann/tinywm (only 50 lines of C!) or FVWM, TWM

[wdscharff]

In the past (from 2010) I used XFCE on my work computer, then during the distro hopping phase I also used most common window managers and desktop environments. Fluxbox was out of focus because ugly, as it was installed in opensuse, for example, but not only there.

Then I got to know the MX "interpretation" of Fluxbox, saw the videos about it, since then only Fluxbox.
Fluxbox, simply because it suits me best in terms of configuration and maintenance of my personal workflow.

[user101]

I found XFCE (with all its faults) to be fast. I like fast more than any other feature. I have tried some other distros not using XFCE and they just feel laggy, especially on older hardware.

Since I have wrestled with the utter unintuitiveness of setting up XFCE the way I like it, I feel it's only sensible to stick with it now that I have gone through the pain. If something is faster, I might be tempted to try, but I am in 'settled-down' mode and it will take a lot of convincing. Hah.

[amlug]

Did a search of DE/WM extensions and plugins:

KDE Extensions:
https://store.kde.org/browse?cat=423&ord=latest

Gnome Extensions:
https://extensions.gnome.org

XFCE Plugins:
https://docs.xfce.org/panel-plugins

FVWM Extensions:
https://rasatpc.net/fvwm-ext

Any other add-on function sites?

[Arnox]

I don't like also all these bloated KDE-apps, full of redundant features like page preview in simple text editors, image-browsers that need much more time to launch than Gimp or Darktable, instead of being quick and handy, lots of features that does not work at all like Google-Drive connections etc. KDE lacks of XFCE's stability.

It should be kept in mind that KDE has lately made massive strides towards stability and efficiency. I can't speak to the quality of third-party software, but when KDE is this customizable, it makes sense that there would be a lot more "fiddly bits" third-party developers need to worry about. There's also the issue of rather old third-party software still being listed for download on KDE's store which may or may not be fully compatible now. Now is KDE itself completely stable and perfect nowadays? Sadly, no, but it's definitely WAY better than it was, and if you need KDE's power and ease of accessing it, they're kinda the only game in town at this time. XFCE is sorta close to what KDE is doing, but is also missing many features out of the box that KDE has in order to keep things more simple and light.

[kobaian]

I can't speak to the quality of third-party software, but when KDE is this customizable, it makes sense that there would be a lot more "fiddly bits" third-party developers need to worry about. There's also the issue of rather old third-party software still being listed for download on KDE's store which may or may not be fully compatible now.

But that's the problem of KDE. When I'm customizing MX-Fluxbox I can rely on my general knowledge about the system, CSS, bash scripting etc. It is rather impossible that writing a simple script I will destroy the whole desktop in such a way I cannot easily go back to the previous state. But in KDE I have to rely on third party widgets that I have no idea how they work, that's why after installing a very simple tool, I can end up with an empty desktop without any panels or widgets and with no idea how to fix it. KDE gives you an illusion, that you can easily do anything you want with your system, but at the end of the day it turns out it is not so easy and you will be misled many times, before you learn how to use and customize your environment.

XFCE is sorta close to what KDE is doing, but is also missing many features out of the box that KDE has in order to keep things more simple and light.

Give me some examples of really important features, that KDE has, but that are unavailable in XFCE.

[richb]

But in KDE I have to rely on third party widgets that I have no idea how they work, that's why after installing a very simple tool, I can end up with an empty desktop without any panels or widgets and with no idea how to fix it.

I have been using KDE for many years and installed many third pasrty widgets. Indeed they may not work, but never has it destroyed the basic system.I think that assertion is a bit over the top. In my experience at any rate.

[AVLinux]

installed many third pasrty widgets

Pastry widgets? KDE sounds more delicious than I thought!

Just kidding richb, couldn't resist!