I will build or buy an IP-based kvm that plugs into my hdmi port and has passthrough for the local monitor before I use GNOME.

I used GNOME for many years, but nearly every UX decision they have made in the past 20 years has been the polar opposite of my desires. I have come to the conclusion that the developers in the GNOME project don't want me using their software and I'm happy to oblige them.

I’m a pro user with over two decades of experience, I don’t use Gnome all the time (I prefer Sway these days), but I’m all-in for having a nice DE that would embrace regular people with its simplicity. IMO Gnome does that very well. Yet, I am, as a pro-user can use that almost as good as I use my sway desktop. At home, our shared guest room computer runs default Fedora, and I don’t feel any limitations with it (it has almost none of my configs), and can do most of my work when I’m up to it. The only real difference is when I want to spend like a whole day working with it. An hour or two, no real difference.

Saying that, why won’t you just use the DE targeted at you, as a pro user? With Gnome, I rather afraid they might mess the simplicity at some point and start doing features features features for the sake of them. See KDE Plasma with their settings. I used it since KDE2, and while I rather like it, I am still getting lost in all the bells and whistles. They are too many, and I’ve been around for a really long time.

> a nice DE that would embrace regular people

Then you want something that directly copies Windows. Gnome doesn't do that; it very much does its own thing, which confuses regular people who typically just want an unenshittified Windows.

I don’t agree you have to copy Windows. I agree it’s nice to copy it to lure those who touched no other system and know only Windows. But actually, it’s good to have just simple and usable interface, and people would learn it no problem. There are not many things to learn after all. Gnome does that. Also, it’s very good as a simple macOS replacement. Even simpler than macOS itself. And when I install Gnome, I advert it as ‘very similar to macOS’ (good) ‘but without need to buy their expensive hardware’ (also good). And sometimes I say it’s simpler too (also good). Yes, there are situations when I’d like to have a 1-to-1 (visually) for cases when I want people to not notice they are using not Windows. But actually having something with just a simple interface is more valuable. For a Windows copycat, I use KDE, as it’s somewhat similar, more or so. I know there are ‘more Windows-like shells’ but I just don’t like them personally. Other systems, actually change a lot, including Windows itself. So that’s not an issue in my opinion.