That's not too hard a question for me, I've been using the same DE for years: KDE

KDE

Plasma, been using it since I was a kid

I'd rather not use a computer at all than use GNOME for the rest of my live.
For me it's KDE Plasma all the way.

GNOME because it works out of the box like GNOME

KDE. Been upgrading the same environment for 5 years just keeps getting better.

I started around maybe KDE 3?

Desktop environment? Who needs a desktop environment?

KDE Plasma.

It has been great for gaming, adopting Wayland protocols at a faster rate than other DEs due in part thanks to Valve's contributions.

I freaking love GNOME & Adwaita, but I'll switch back when I deem it better than Plasma.

Definitely Gnome here. Though I have a long list of notes, it mostly just works exactly like I expect with little friction or guessing. I donate $100/year to both Gnome and KDE since they are both good pieces of software, and I love that I get to chose mine. Further, I think KDE is the logical choice for something like the SteamDeck where it's going to have a lot of gamers that expect computers to work like Windows. (even if I don't like it, >_<)

My computer doesn't really break, I'm Ship of Theseus-ing it regularly.

Apart from that, the only one among the normal window based ones that has felt like it respects my will to configure stuff in ways that feel right to me has been KDE Plasma.

XFCE, using it for over 10 years, not planning to change it unless the DE changes radically.

This isn't even hard. KDE without a second thought.

I regularly try other desktops, and I regularly come back to the only desktop with any sort of reasonable thought put into it.

Probably KDE, it's the most 'complete' feeling to me with settings and GUI for most things.

KDE

KDE - I love to tinker and own my DE. 😎

If it has to be a DE then I'd go with XFCE, otherwise I'd probably go with openbox.

Gnome.

Cinnamon by and far.

I've used so many distros and DEs I don't even know where to begin, but Cinnamon got me hooked for the long run. It's legitimately the most polished and "ready to run" DE I've ever used, yet still allowing for far more customization than Windows ever offered.

I keep coming back to KDE time and time again. It's so easy to mess with, I can set it up exactly how I like it without much effort, and it always looks good because someone else did all the work making themes and widgets I use.

That said, I love XFCE, I'm just trash with CSS so it takes me forever to get it how I like, and on my Surface I can't get the scaling to work so everything is beyond tiny.

any computer I need to be stable enough for work/school: KDE

any computer whose primary purpose is for goofing off and gaming: LXQt (and I will spend the entire time configuring LXQt instead of gaming...)

KDE for sure. The modern versions look exactly like how I want a desktop environment to look out of the box, and they keep the full range of customizability that a desktop should, IMO, allow it's users to have. Which is something Windows just kept slowly getting rid of over the years.

I also prefer to have a taskbar that is ever present with a traditional start menu that's cleanly organized by category rather than the current full screen pop up "activities" search thing gnome does nowadays.

Gnome for me. I like it

KDE the customization is off the charts

Always wanted to like gnome but never could, and xfce is fine but I much prefer KDE, it is verry likely that I'll actually keep it till my pc breaks.

KDE, always

Used it since I switched to the Linux Desktop 25 years ago. Quickly tried gnome, and others, and hated it.

KDE is fast, efficient, looks awesome, is ready to work with, and highly customizable

I'd say Gnome, since I'm so used to it that I feel it doesn't get in the way of the things I'm doing.
Because that would be my aim: something that doesn't interfere with the work I am doing.

gnome head all the way!!!

If it has to be a de, I'd pick gnome. Otherwise it's hyprland.

Plasma for the last decade. Then probably XFCE, then Cinnamon.

I try Gnome every year or so, but every time I get pissed off with it within a few minutes and wipe it off my machine.

I don't mind a little "change" every now and then, but still -- "Sway" on my "potatoes" (Orange pi zero 3 and Orange pi 5 max) and "Hyprland" on my x86_64 PC.

LXQt or XFCE if I have to pick a DE. Fluxbox or openbox if I can get away with just a WM. ;)

KDE Plasma, I can't go back to SDR

KDE plasma. Coming from 30 years of running exclusively windows it's just the most comfortable and easy for me to use (way more than Gnome). Easily configurable, works. Can't ask for more.

LXQT. Why? Because: It is lightweight, consumes little resources, is quite customizable, and has full Ukrainian localization.

Maybe I'll switch to XFCE/MATE, but not if there are a lot of things not translated, or if the translation is worse than even Google Translate.

Until my laptop dies or cannot support it, I'm sticking with KDE Plasma. Love how MX configured it (because I'm lazy) and absolutely will keep using it for as long as my laptop survived or can hold it.

Might try other ones in VMs (like ratpoison) in the future for other machines I might set up in the future, but for now KDE Plasma is my go-to that I'll probably be using for a long time.

Gnome