

I think I have seen a similar issue. Mine is that sometimes my firefox gets stuck in the background and I can click the icon in my dock to maximize it. Nothing happens. I have to hit the Windows key to view all my windows in that particular workspace, then click firefox to get it to the front. Sometimes it doesn’t work and I have to close out Firefox and reopen. Is that similar to what you’re seeing ?
Every few years I get the customization bug and trick out my desktop. Then things start breaking down slowly. Then I get frustrated and reinstall vanilla gnome, swear off customization forever, and feel better.
For gaming its Plasma.
Knowing the default DE’s idiosyncrasies also helps with work – I’m never surprised when I reinstall/install a new machine. Same goes for aliases. No for me, knowing the commands themselves, however cumbersome or verbose, helps me better deal with freshly installed machines.