Not a happy camper

[sparky3332]

I've used Ubuntu since Warty Warthog and I am not enamored
with where it has gone. I like the Gnome desktop instead of
Unity. And, slowly but surely, I'm losing my capability to
customize it. Now, I can't even change my background to a
solid color without jumping through hoops.

Is it time to start looking at other platforms?

[halogen2]

Is it time to start looking at other platforms?

Yes. Use what works for you.

I've used Ubuntu since Warty Warthog and I am not enamored
with where it has gone. I like the Gnome desktop

You mean the Gnome desktop that would've come with Warty Warthog? Have you looked into Ubuntu MATE?

[CatKiller]

Is it time to start looking at other platforms?

No, just different desktop environments. The Gnome devs developed a pathological aversion to users being able to customise things from Gnome 3 onwards.

Cinnamon was created specifically to keep Gnome 2 going as soon as people saw what Gnome 3 was like, and there are several other projects that are based on Gnome but without the insanity. I used Cinnamon for a while, but then switched all my computers to KDE as soon as I'd tried it; if you're particularly after easy customisability then KDE is what I'd recommend.

There are plenty of Ubuntu flavours available that come with a different desktop environment, or you can add a different one. The latter can get messy (particularly if you add more than one), so the former is preferable.

[Dennis N]

Now, I can't even change my background to a solid color without jumping through hoops.

With Tweaks tool and ample shell extensions, I would say it's fairly easy to customize. You just have to read and discover what's possible. Some of the popular Ubuntu blogs will help. As to the background as a solid color, the dconf-editor utility is your friend to make this easy.

[scorp123]

Is it time to start looking at other platforms?

Try a different variant then? e.g. I'm a big fan of Ubuntu-Budgie (which has the Budgie desktop, as the name suggests) and Kubuntu (which uses the highly customisable KDE desktop).

[Tadaen_Sylvermane]

Use another version as mentioned. I can't find the link to it but I had seen an article a few years back that described Gnome 3 / Gnome Shell as getting out of the way and being unobtrusive. As such it isn't outwardly very customizable. It's beauty is it's simplicity. If you want features then KDE is probably best. Xfce isn't too bad either and can be made to look very modern. If you are looking for the original Gnome 2 look and feel then MATE seems to be where it's at.

[ajgreeny]

Have a good long read through the thread at https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2415676 which I believe may be the easiest way to see what's available.

[sparky3332]

Thanks All for your suggestions. I will try MATE and read thru what ajgreeny suggested.

For now, I just went back to 18.04.