[yjftsjthsd-h]

GNOME feels that a nearly-useless top panel is important to give them a distinctive visual style; their brand is a very big deal.

https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-shell-list/2011-June/m... / https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-shell-list/2011-June/m...

(I am aware that I'm linking to messages from 2011. All evidence is that this is still exactly how GNOME operates, and this simply is the best case of its devs writing down what they think that I know about. Anyone with evidence of a change of heart is welcome to share.)