Thank you for being patient with me! And thank you for yet another set of clarifications!
Idk if everything can br called “hacks” but mostly yea.
I’ve used the term ‘hacks’ a couple of times without properly defining it. My bad. So, I’ve used it in the context of “doing things the unintended and/or unsupported way”.
but idk if GUI apps and extensions can see themes installed in ~/.local
They should.
and how many installation guides tell about that method.
Arch wiki states it and there’s no reason (in this case) to assume it won’t work. Furthermore, FWIW, the documentation on uBlue does discuss theming.
Idk how it works
Currently, it involves creating your own image :P .
and how simple it is but gtk that.
So, as just mentioned, it’s possible. But, it’s definitely more cumbersome than placing it in /usr/share/themes.
But we’re talking about situation when user-friendly distros become immutable.
Are you referring to distros like Linux Mint, Pop!_OS and Zorin becoming immutable? While it’s definitely possible that I’ve alluded as such, I can’t recall it. Nor was I able to find it in my earlier writings. Could you explicitly state what you mean by this and when I’ve (at least) hinted at this?
but, for example, you said that Fedora expects their immutable options to become mainstream.
If, by becoming mainstream, you mean that over half of Fedora’s user base will be using them, then yes.
I know that Fedora and other immutable distros are often recommended for new users now.
If you meant uBlue images with “other immutable distros”, then I’m fine with this statement. However, if you meant other immutable distros, then I’d like to know which ones you meant. Furthermore, even Fedora’s own images are rarely recommended to new users. Generally, at least from what I’ve seen, Aurora, Bazzite and Bluefin (all three being uBlue image) are mentioned in these conversation. And, IMO, rightfully so.
This means that the ones that recommend them consider them user-friendly. Imo this, as well as rumors about Canonical want to make Ubuntu Core the default desktop offering, destroys your point in the context of this discussion.
Sorry. I lost you here. My bad. What’s my point in the context of this discussion?
Another (but small) confusion point for new users.
At least the terminal output makes it very clear that a (soft-)reboot is required. I’ve honestly never seen anyone mention this, i.e. the need to (soft-)reboot for the changes to take effect, as something that leads to confusion. I do understand the frustration that follows from the act of (soft-)rebooting though :P .
Thanks once again for another lovely set of clarifications! Thank you in advance!