My vote reflects that I tossed Windows and now use Slack for my desktop OS. It would also be hosting my website if I werent on dialup, but on that note, my last host had MANY server issues and lost my site many times while I conveniently had a Windows-induced HD failure and lost the site at the same time too. LOL
Anyhow, to hit a few points mentioned above: Knoppix has the best hardware detection I've seen yet; I don't care for Ubuntu or Gentoo; I love Slack including the way it updates, the very fast loading, relatively easy configuration....
Desktop tweaking section would be welcome IMO, as I like a functional attractive desktop, but want it to work FAST with no cute animations and no extra bells and whistles; when I ask for a menu I want it NOW! Hehehe.. None of that idle-time while the OS thinks about my request. Currently I am pretty happy with the way everything is working.

Originally posted by GrapefruitTgirl:
Yeh, I am a big fan of Knoppix, though actually Debian has correctly detected all my hardware whereas Knoppix detects my Epson scanner as a Plustek (still works as the sane back end is the same). So I have to say Debian has the best hardware detection in my experience.

Surely both Gnome and KDE have just that feature either in the control centre or right-click on the desktop in KDE.
But if you want fast etc you should check out a lightweight window manager such as (my favourite) Fluxbox. Sit back and watch it fly!

But there's more to "desktop beautification" than just firing up GNOME. You want to get the right fonts at the right resolutions, load the best drivers and options for your graphics adapter and monitor, etc and so on--all doable without resorting to GNOME's preferences. Besides, for those people who use more than one DE/WM, it's tedious to each in turn and tweak it. More efficient when you can make some few changes that effect all. Like changing a GTK-theme, and seeing it work for all GTK programs in any environment.

And I like all that stuff, but would prefer that it stay optional (as proposed). Let Slackware remain stable and conventional, and a great choice for server use and the like. Yet, for the apparently many casual end users who simply want a prettier interface without sacrificing Slackware's vaunted security and stability...let there be guides and scripts! Readily available! But aren't there a few popular Slackware-focused, user-contributable websites already that you can post your efforts to? Like www.userlocal.com or www.slackersbible.org. That way your efforts get instant acknowledgement from the relevant community.

Speaking as one of the admins of http://slackwiki.org, I would love to see that content. If there's anything that I can help with in that regard (from a wiki admin standpoint), let me know.