[keithpeter]

I sort of guessed, but decided to answer literally because people can just find a GUI that works for them on Linux can they not?

My understanding of Gnome desktop is that customisation is being offloaded to third party extensions. I admit rapid changes in API for extensions means breakage at present, but I'm hoping for asymptotic stability as the interface matures. When that happens it will be like visual emacs one hopes... hack on your GUI for the things you need.