What’s the reasoning behind not having a “system tray” in GNOME? You need to install an extension for that, and that is a weird process for newcomers/beginners.
But my question is why? Does GNOME really think you don’t need one? Why don’t they include it?
The best and most official explanation I’ve read is the 2017 GNOME blog post, Status Icons and GNOME.
Essentially, tray icons are a throwback to the days before designated notification and media playback APIs, and they now create some ambiguity for app developers, in addition to being ripe for abuse.
It’s a worthwhile read and the writer makes several valid points, but doesn’t address as much as I’d like in terms of actual solutions for things like instant messengers.
Personally, I would be happy if traditional tray apps could somehow be displayed in the dash, with status indicators, and started in a minimized state. And I still see the benefit of having some always-visible tray apps, such as VPN indicators.
Nice read. I’d add that there’s also no mobile or tablet counterpart which becomes more and more important