I personally use LXDE. Just sayin.

Arch Linux x64 with Cinnamon Dekstop

i miss some good features that i had in MATE tho, but on the other hand its time to move to some more modern desktops, since some programs had some transparency issues with MATE due the lacking metacity fork.

overall i think MATE is still the best out there from the functionality point of view.
Xfce is clearly a second choice in that area imo.
Cinnamon is modern stuff, lacks some functionality and deeper configurations, but it seems to work fine otherwise.

i was long time gnome2/mate user. actually since ubuntu 6.10 when i switched to linux first time. then after that unity crap version of ubuntu i pointed my repos to linux mint and used it as my main until few days ago when i just switched to arch for systemd possibilities and other neat features. i still linked to my old /home partition which is been around since 2006 (i just hate formats)

unity and gnome3 (gnome-shell) are in my opinion the worst things happened with linux desktops.
while unity is somewhat more usable, gnome 3 is total zero. u have to extend it with lots of thirdparty extensions to make it somewhat usable.

thats my rant.
prolly many will jump in here to defend gnome3 now:D
i dont really care.. matter of choice and needs.

I too have come to the conclusion that i despise gnome shell i agree it needs quite a few extensions and config edits to become actually useful.

What bugs me the most at the moment is the elementary os developers thinking they know best and removed the minimize button just like gnome shell, even though elementary has a bloody dock, you have to click on the icon in the dock to minimize...*sigh*, windows, os x, unity, cinnamon, lxde, xfce and kde all have some form of dock for a reason (with a minimize button), more users like minimize than don't. It's not just that sometimes you want to hide an app like say filezilla for example while you are uploading a lot you want to carry on but have it out the way...Coders thinking they know best really annoy me.

Linux Mint is probably one of the best things to happen to Linux since shell and unity came about. Not because of the distro but the desktop work they do for MATE and Cinnamon. I think I will be sticking to Cinnamon from now on. I love KDE but wow it's bloated and slow...and hellofa buggy no matter what distro i try it on.

I'm a Unity user and can't imagine changing. This is due to the ease of use, nothing compares to it according to my 8 year old nephew. It's not the most customisable DE, but it performs well for me and looks great. 

Side note; when logging in from any page it'll redirect you to the homepage. It would be good if it returned you to the page you was already on.

Fedora user for years and currently use Xfce as my main desktop.

While responding against other peoples subjective criticisms is pointless, I actually do like Gnome Shell and I do not get all the hate. I will respond to Liam's comment that "coders thinking they know best really annoy me" as this sounds like the usual garbage thrown about on Phoronix (and I am sorry Liam, but the way that statement is worded is garbage). Who exactly is supposed to ordain the direction of an interface if not the creators? Responding to feedback is one thing, but saying that the people actually behind a project should not have the leading role in it is nonsense. While you have obviously taken a lot of steps to accept user input on GoL (as should be commended) how would you feel if someone told you that you should not know what is best for your website? That is basically what you are saying with regards to these interfaces. You can complain all you want (that is perfectly valid), but please do not suggest that you have any authority to tell them not to do what they want with their own project please.

The reason I am on Xfce right now though is the fact that Gnome 3 does not work with Zaphod Heads primarily. I also do think that Xfce is actually better than Gnome 2 on several levels - the panel config in Xfce is far superior to Gnome 2 (where panel applets would never stay put and had to be manually clicked, dragged, and locked all the time rather than having a nice items editor) and it's internals are in far better shape. Main weak point is Thunar and xfdesktop, both of which have been somewhat fixed up either in 4.10 (where I have been told that desktop launchers should stop moving about on resolution changes) and in later development versions (where Thunar supposedly has been given tab support). All in all I will stand by saying Xfce is better than Gnome 2 and definitely has more of a future than MATE.

LXDE has also impressed me as it has improved by leaps and bounds within the past year. I got it setup on my mothers computer since it has quite old hardware in it and it has been working well, and minor annoyances are continuing to be fixed.

I can see why some people can like KDE but I just can't - I do not like how loose everything feels, despise it's panel, do not like how cliquey everything is, and find many KDE applications to be unstable and prone to regression (a little like WINE in that respect...)

You can vent all you want but please tone down the egos a bit everyone. 

I used to use Kubuntu - that was about 6 years ago. I liked KDE. As a previous MS user, KDE felt very comfortable. But when they completely changed KDE, I bailed. Now I just use Ubuntu. Not crazy about Gnome, but I've gotten used to it.

I guess sometimes i can be overly harsh but my points still stand and a lot of people agree with me.

They removed something that most other desktops have because it makes them easier to use for most people - it angers me so I make no apology for things I say about how they work. It's their project though so they can of course do what they want (just like i can with gol :P, i like to think I listen to users more than they do though...) but it just means they will lose users like they already have.

I may try XFCE if it really is much better than gnome 2 it may also fit my needs if Cinnamon doesn't work out.

Cinnamon is great though. Hoping the next update will continue the good trend which it seems it will with the additions I have seen so far.

Just a shame Unity doesn't work how I want as I love how it looks.

Hey, never said you could not be harsh, just that you should be fair. ;)

Certain things Gnome 2 does still do better (again, mostly concerns with Xfdesktop and Thunar) but with the 4.8 release I think Xfce really started getting things in shape and 4.10 looks like another great release. So I definitely see the future in it, and it does have very nice low footprint - not as low as LXDE of course but still quite nice.

Xubuntu and Lubuntu also seem to be reaching a quite nice pace of polish as well, if you would ever want to give one of them a whirl.

Will bear that in mind then for the future :) .

Cinnamon seems to work pretty well for me right now though so at least until Ubuntu 13.04 I will stick with it.

I'm on Gentoo and Openbox

Kubuntu 12.10, KDE on Desktop
Lubuntu some version, LXDE on Laptop (and playing with linux puppies sometimes)

This link is interesting http://blogs.gnome.org/mclasen/2013/01/25/gnome-3-7-at-the-halfway-mark/ it shows how their newer classic desktop will look as it's basically shell with some extensions by default.

Looks a lot like gnome 2 of course, glad to see them putting effort into it.

Another reason I do not understand all of the GNOME hate - they have actually started listening to some of the complaints.

Also, I read about some of the Thunar changes planned for Xfce 4.12. It may just become great yet. ^_^

yeah they started to listen like 1 and half years too late.
even fedora is planning to switch to cinnamon now.

well im sure that gnome3 can make its way to better usability and it will eventually..but currently its not in the good shape.
yeah for some people who just use their computer for internet and music - it might not be too bad to use.
but multitasking on this desktop environment is seriously hindered.

Again, more Phoronix-esqe garbage. 

First off, somebody submitted a Fedora feature proposal (a package maintainer). That does not mean it has been accepted. I could go on there and suggest that the desktop be switched to Blackbox (I am still quite fond of Blackbox...) and it would be considered and rejected, as will most likely happen with this. That is what happens in an openly developed community project (again, not these evil committees forcing these changes down your throats.)

Second, after all of the ego allegations thrown at the GNOME developers, I find this notion of "too little too late" highly hypocritical and annoying. After all this time of badgering them in the most rude, gruff, and childish manners possible they are actually giving their dissenters views the time of day and finding a clean way of addressing their concerns, and yet you still stand on your soapboxes and act like you and only you have the moral authority to govern their project. Talk about egos.

And third, I have used Gnome Shell. I have multi-tasked with it. It is not that bad. Yes, it is designed to promote going from one task at a time. But it can be done with a minimal of fuss. Do not like it? Use an extension, or use the Classic Shell in 3.8, or use another desktop. They have been given you options. And actually developers do use Shell, so no, it is not just for content consumption.

Please, you can dislike a DE all you want, but give these tired old cliches a rest, okay?

sry did i hurt your feelings somehow?
im talking about my opinion and i can say what i want about it!
at least u should/or actually u allready did some way, admit that they have lost ground with the gnome3. people paniced and switched over to other desktops, when they first released their buggy incomplete gnome3.
ofc things have been slowly improving, but its still not there yet.. will be probably with 3.8.
why i said "late" is because many have switched to kde or any other desktops due the lack of missing features/stability that gnome3 brought at the launch. yeah there are still lots of gnome3 users and who like that.
some people like windows 8 also...

Yes, you can assert your opinion. Never said you could not. Does not mean I can not also point out statements I believe to be garbage. I have nothing wrong with you disliking Gnome Shell, just with the way many in the anti-Gnome Shell camp assert themselves (I will admit that much in that post was not directed at you specifically). I will also agree that the Gnome 3 transition could have been handled better. So could the KDE4 one. But to see people still badgering them like this when they are trying actually trying to address some of their concerns really gets me upset.

Anyway, I booted the Fedora 18 Xfce spin today to try out Xfce 4.10 and things are in even better shape with it than I thought. The desktop icons do indeed stay put even after the resolution changes, and Thunar already has tab support! The ristretto image viewer is actually better than eog (never got around to trying it before) and everything is running even faster and more responsively than 4.8 did. So colour me impressed. The spin itself could use a lot more love put into it (the themeing is terrible) but the desktop is actually really nice.

I actually have more respect for the gnome developers now they have started listening with the new classic mode since it will actually be supported.

KDE did the same thing, pushed out a product far too early i wasn't too happy with them at the time either but it has come a long way.

I think Cinnamon currently is the way to go, but I love what i have seen from XFCE so far as well. One thing about XFCE which i don't quite get is this:

[FINISHED] Drop User Directories

We've decided to drop users dirs entirely and instead show user-defined bookmarks in the menu. We leave the choice of what to appear in the menu to users.

That seems a bit odd, not sure how that would work in Thunar? Are they just hiding the user directory?

Also try to keep it cool guys, no insults please I know it's quite a heated topic but make sure it stays clean.

Also try to keep it cool guys, no insults please I know it's quite a heated topic but make sure it stays clean.

Okay, I will remind myself not to read Phoronix and post on here at the same time. Seriously, it is becoming a witch hunt over there.