> The point of XDG isn't about a particular user experience, it's about cross-desktop compatibility. If you lose the two biggest desktops, then it's doomed to uselessness. Like a W3C that Mozilla and Google don't listen to.

I don't think it would be useless. If GNOME and KDE don't care anymore, then move on without them. Lead the way with the people who do care. Eventually your work will surpass theirs, and they will either join you, follow you, or fall into obscurity.

> The first step of standardization is to get the people with the most pull to care. The problem is nobody cares anymore.

I think the first step of standardization is to standardize. ;) If the DE projects I mentioned got together and defined useful standards and started using them, if they started solving real problems that they and other DEs experience, then the big two would naturally be attracted to the new standards and solutions.

But even if GNOME and KDE never came around, you still have four or five DEs (with the potential for more) that have useful interoperability. I think that would be valuable.

Possible elephant in the room: Red Hat/Fedora. My impression is that XDG is dominated by GNOME which is dominated by Red Hat. They have shown in many ways how little they care about users, standards, and stability. Time to leave them in the dust. Blaze a new trail for desktop Linux without them! ;)