but that all said; I understand people have preferences, and if their preferences is less bells and whistles, so be it, that's a valid choice.
I just wish Gnome would 1) not be used as default in many distros and workplaces that implement it (gLinux at Google is a pain in the ass sometimes), and 2) would literally allow for any configuration at all without having to install a billion plugins that then break stuff and they then snobbishly suggest you to just turn off the plugins.