XFCE

That's not too hard a question for me, I've been using the same DE for years: KDE

Probably KDE, it's the most 'complete' feeling to me with settings and GUI for most things.

KDE plasma. Coming from 30 years of running exclusively windows it's just the most comfortable and easy for me to use (way more than Gnome). Easily configurable, works. Can't ask for more.

KDE. Been upgrading the same environment for 5 years just keeps getting better.

I started around maybe KDE 3?

Cinnamon for 2 reasons

1. KDE is missing a lot of features which still only works in Gnome. Like the taskbar Calendar app syncing events with services like Google Calendar

2. cinnamon is extremely stable and doesn’t move your icons around when you connect to an external display with your laptop and the display has a different resolution.

KDE Plasma for ease of use if using Nvidia Otherwise Hyprland or exwm

This isn't even hard. KDE without a second thought.

I regularly try other desktops, and I regularly come back to the only desktop with any sort of reasonable thought put into it.

KDE the customization is off the charts

MATE has been on most of my machines, except the BSD ones.

But past year or so, I have grown a fondness towards ctwm, and gradually migrated my machines to it, Linux and BSD alike.

It is not a DE, but the fact that I have to assemble my suite of software myself on my machines, makes the point of using DEs moot.

KDE for sure. The modern versions look exactly like how I want a desktop environment to look out of the box, and they keep the full range of customizability that a desktop should, IMO, allow it's users to have. Which is something Windows just kept slowly getting rid of over the years.

I also prefer to have a taskbar that is ever present with a traditional start menu that's cleanly organized by category rather than the current full screen pop up "activities" search thing gnome does nowadays.

KDE

I'd rather not use a computer at all than use GNOME for the rest of my live.
For me it's KDE Plasma all the way.

GNOME because it works out of the box like GNOME

KDE plasma, unless it's on a tablet, then Gnome

Plasma, been using it since I was a kid

KDE Plasma.

It has been great for gaming, adopting Wayland protocols at a faster rate than other DEs due in part thanks to Valve's contributions.

I freaking love GNOME & Adwaita, but I'll switch back when I deem it better than Plasma.

Definitely Gnome here. Though I have a long list of notes, it mostly just works exactly like I expect with little friction or guessing. I donate $100/year to both Gnome and KDE since they are both good pieces of software, and I love that I get to chose mine. Further, I think KDE is the logical choice for something like the SteamDeck where it's going to have a lot of gamers that expect computers to work like Windows. (even if I don't like it, >_<)

I keep coming back to KDE time and time again. It's so easy to mess with, I can set it up exactly how I like it without much effort, and it always looks good because someone else did all the work making themes and widgets I use.

That said, I love XFCE, I'm just trash with CSS so it takes me forever to get it how I like, and on my Surface I can't get the scaling to work so everything is beyond tiny.

Cinnamon by and far.

I've used so many distros and DEs I don't even know where to begin, but Cinnamon got me hooked for the long run. It's legitimately the most polished and "ready to run" DE I've ever used, yet still allowing for far more customization than Windows ever offered.

My computer doesn't really break, I'm Ship of Theseus-ing it regularly.

Apart from that, the only one among the normal window based ones that has felt like it respects my will to configure stuff in ways that feel right to me has been KDE Plasma.

Gnome.

Always wanted to like gnome but never could, and xfce is fine but I much prefer KDE, it is verry likely that I'll actually keep it till my pc breaks.

Probably Plasma because it's familiar and you're able to customize it extensively over time.

KDE

I currently use GNOME and would continue to but if it were a low spec machine, probably icewm or jwm.

y'all sure like KDE though 🤢

There is nothing better than Xfce, if you dont like the desktop, at least Xfce allows you to customize. KDE seems interesting, but the last time i tried it, 10 years ago more or less, it was a bit buggy.

KDE.

I'm a cog in the machine and use KDE, but xfce is awesome, I would use xfce if I couldn't use KDE.

KDE for the desktop and xfce for the laptop

XFCE, using it for over 10 years, not planning to change it unless the DE changes radically.

I'd say Gnome, since I'm so used to it that I feel it doesn't get in the way of the things I'm doing.
Because that would be my aim: something that doesn't interfere with the work I am doing.

KDE - I love to tinker and own my DE. 😎

KDE Plasma, I can't go back to SDR

Switched from i3 to sway to hyland. I like the virtual desktop setup and noiseless facing interaction.