Charles Ganion (charles gagnon), the mayor of the project Dash to Panel, announced the search for a new individual to take over project management. The project dash to panel is an extension to the gnome shell that includes a panel with application labeling, task icons, and a system tray, inspired by panels in KDE Plasma and Windows 7+. Created in 2016, based on the project dash to dock, the panel has garnered over 4 million downloads. Charles has been involved in development since 2018 and took over from the original mayor, Jason Dorouza (jason derose).
Charles’s departure was prompted by negative community feedback regarding the aggressive nature of donation requests. A donation button with an animated red heart image was introduced to the application labeling section, requiring users to wait 20 seconds before being able to close the notification. While a menu option was eventually added to hide the button, it was not immediately available. Users expressed dissatisfaction with the button’s prominence in the panel, distracting animation, and the delay in being able to hide it.
In response to criticism, Charles moved the button to the end of the list. The project’s founder, who stepped away from development in 2021, also weighed in, stating that intrusive advertising went against the project’s ethos. He highlighted the collaborative effort behind Dash To Panel, emphasizing the contributions of various individuals involved in its development and the systems it interacts with. The founder warned against resorting to irritating methods to reignite motivation, proposing a community-driven approach to project leadership succession if Charles was feeling burnt out.