[Cu3PO42]

> The free software world wasn't meant to be like this, where you have to fight the OS/distro to get things to work the way you want.

I'm of two minds about this. I get where you're coming from, but I also understand the reasoning behind this default behavior. I've seen a lot of UIs in visually broken or even dysfunctional states due to bad themes. I get why app developers want to prevent that. You and I both, and probably most everyone here, know to turn the theme off first and see if we can reproduce the issue before reporting a bug, but does everyone?

In my mind, if we want the Linux desktop to be appealing to the broader masses (and I really want this), we need a desktop environment or two that makes some concessions in this direction (e.g. making things more user-proof) without compromising on its values. To me, themeability is nice and something I want personally, but it's not a core value that needs to be upheld.

[red_admiral]

It is a core value once accessibility gets involved. Color-blind or partially sighted users, or dyslexic or highly sensory-sensitive users, may want to make choices that would seem weird if not painful on the eyes to most people, but that work well for them.