this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2025
43 points (89.1% liked)
Linux
58681 readers
498 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Oops, shouldve probably explained it in the post.
ssd= server side decorations
server side decorations is when the system draws the titlebar, as opposed to client side decorations (csd) where the applications draws it.
for example, gnome uses csd, but kde uses ssd.
There's debate over which is better, but the main difference is that csd allows applications to put anything in the titlebar, which can make the design nicer, and ssd allows the titlebars on all apps to be consistent, which I personally value more.
Of course server side decorations are better, why is there even a debate?
Simply because other people disagree.
It's mostly devs like csd better, because they "can express themselves" and users like ssd better, because it's not inconsistent and can be themed by them. In short, csd sucks for users.
I’m going to provide the counter opinion here: I prefer CSD. SSD gives you a consistent title bar across applications, but it can cause a wildly inconsistent look within a single app. Part of the application is being themed by a different piece of software that doesn’t know anything about it.
I also like apps being able to make use of some of the extra space in the titlebar if they want to.
Uh, yeah, because the titlebar isn't part of the app but of the wm. And i like the Adapta titlebar better to the Materia theme, no i didn't ask about the developers opinion. You, as a developer, make a User Interface, not a piece of art, keep that in mind.
I’m a user. Why do you assume I’m a dev?
From a user perspective I don't understand how wasting a bunch of screen space on an ugly, non-functional bar across every window is better. I get that from a software development perspective it's basically one less thing to deal with. But I absolutely prefer to have a functional use for the space.
The title bars in KDE felt so antiquated, especially for such a foundational thing. For a while I removed the title bars and used a "move window" key and minimize/maximize/close shortcuts.
Eventually I just switched to Gnome.
That's a good take, I wish KDE had a better model that allowed for custom buttons and menus on the titlebar. But I still think CSD are awkard to work with, we need the best of both worlds in my opinion
Aha oops I edited at the same time as your reply! Thanks for the elaboration, that's helpful!
The realistic answer IMO is that SSD should be the default with client overrides being available.
Yes consistency is important but if someone wants to do something weird, let them. Open software ecosystems should prioritize flexibility like that.