1. KDE’s enduring appeal and polish
- “It’s impressive for the project to have come so far… KDE is highly customizable, full of power‑user features but also really simple with its current defaults… shoutout to Okular, Kate, Krusader, KolourPaint.” – ACS_Solver
- “I feel quite repulsed by the fact that the first thing you see … is a huge donation card.” – iLoveOncall (shows awareness of community funding but still values the DE)
- “I want to see KDE still improving and keeping up in another 30 years… Intrusive? From a certain point of view, but it pays the bills.” – Kye
Overall sentiment: Long‑time users repeatedly highlight KDE’s stability, rich feature set, and the way it still feels like a modern, cohesive desktop despite its age.
2. Uncertain technical direction & future concerns - “They do plan to remove X11 from Plasma Desktop as well: https://blogs.kde.org/2025/11/26/going-all-in-on-a-wayland-future/” – c‑hendricks
- “I hate SVG theming in Plasma so much that I root for Union to be successful.” – Gualdrapo
- “KDE beta2 was my first… I don’t really use Plasma itself (and soon I won’t even be able to if the rumors of them dropping X11 support are to be believed).” – badsectoracula
Overall sentiment: Several commenters express caution about upcoming shifts (Wayland‑only, X11 removal) and the potential impact on usability, while still hoping the project stays bold.
3. Donation banners and funding model debates
- “I will donate my entire pension if they make it so I can have a Windows 2000 theme that actually works…” – pelagicAustral
- “I feel quite repulsed by the fact that the first thing you see when opening the post is a huge donation card.” – iLoveOncall
- “It was frankly disheartening. In other words, they really have no choice.” – sgc (explains why prominent funding appeals are inevitable) > Overall sentiment: The community is split between annoyance at the prominence of fundraising banners and willingness to support KDE financially if it ensures continued development.