Dash to Panel is one of the most popular GNOME extensions, with over 4 million downloads—for good reason. It brings things back to normal for many GNOME users, giving them a permanent, highly customizable dock. In fact, it’s often one of the first things people install right after setting up their OS.
But now, Dash to Panel users have a real reason to worry. Just three days ago, a concerning message popped up on the developer’s GitHub account:
I’ll be passing on the Dash to Panel torch. Please let me know if you’re interested in contributing to the project.
Here’s the story in a nutshell: A few days ago, a new version of the extension was released, adding support for the upcoming GNOME 48 desktop environment. Along with the new features, the update included a donation button in the panel (which could be easily removed) to help support development.
The reaction was swift. An issue named Aggressive donation push was immediately raised, calling the donation button “too aggressive,” which sparked a flood of comments. In response, an immediate follow-up update removed the button.
The next day, the extension’s developer announced they were stepping away from further development. Was the backlash over the donation button the main reason for this decision? That’s up for debate, but everyone can draw their own conclusions.
Let me share my thoughts on this. It’s open source! When someone spends years of unpaid work saving tens or even hundreds of thousands of users from endless, mindless mouse clicks (sorry, GNOME, but some of your design choices make no sense) and making their workflow a way more convinient, it’s only natural to want to support those efforts in some way.
If you disagree, just don’t use the software—it’s as simple as that. Unfortunately, some people seem to think open source is just a one-way street, where they get convenience for free without giving anything back. And honestly, that’s pretty sad.
Do you know what else is sad? After all this time, GNOME still refuses to bring back basic features, forcing users into a never-ending compatibility battle with extensions every six months. But that’s a whole other conversation—one that probably won’t even matter much longer anyway. “Cnock, cnock! Who’s there? COSMIC!“
