It's 2020. Does the Mac OS allow the user to change the menu bar's color? I was forced to use a MacBook Air for work a couple of years ago and was shocked to find that I was forced to use the drab, grey color that was obviously borrowed from the 1970s Unixes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRIX, for example) via NeXTSTEP.
I cannot imagine why you would find the joy of configurability an "asinine dick swinging contest". I find /r/unixporn unpretentious and wholesome. I find most posts there done out of sheer joy and pride. No one is selling anything or shilling anything.
It could be described as a "asinine dick swinging contest" because in their battle for DE domination they are all hurting the overarching "linux desktop" community by making sure that every developer would have to support many DE, window managers, distro's and what not to get a reliable app.
Having one DE emerge as victorious would greatly benefit linux desktops as a whole, even if it would kill customizability.
It’s one thing to want a customizable dock... but you throw the baby out with the bath water when you abandon MacOS entirely because of it. I understand the dock is just one example, I’m sure you have many.
(You’ve always been able to change the settings of the Dock, it’s just not in Apple’s UI. In older times you could replace PNG assets yourself. Modern stuff is vector based but can still be tweaked. Remember iconfactory?!)
If it brings you joy to tinker with your DE to that extent by all means go for it and have fun. Personally, I like to tinker with my toys and like to get shit done with my professional tools. My Mac is a professional tool.
I cannot imagine why you would find the joy of configurability an "asinine dick swinging contest". I find /r/unixporn unpretentious and wholesome. I find most posts there done out of sheer joy and pride. No one is selling anything or shilling anything.