Wayland set the Linux Desktop back by 10 years?

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Wayland vs X11: Goals and Tradeoffs

  • Many agree X11 had deep architectural problems (security model, tearing, legacy cruft) and that a fresh start was justified.
  • Critics argue Wayland overreacted by doing “the opposite of X,” discarding useful X abstractions and features (global input, easy scripting, remote display) instead of modernizing them.
  • Some commenters say Wayland security and protocol cleanliness are clear wins; others see it as “security theater” for typical single‑user desktops.

Fragmentation and Protocol Design

  • A major theme: Wayland is a protocol, not a single implementation. Compositors (GNOME, KDE, wlroots-based WMs, Hyprland, etc.) pick different extension sets.
  • This leads to “develop for GNOME/KDE/Hyprland, not Linux” complaints: many non-core protocols (screen capture, window management, HDR, PiP) are not universally supported.
  • Some argue a shared implementation like wlroots should have existed from day one; instead GNOME/KDE wrote their own stacks, duplicating effort and behavior.

Functionality Gaps and Long Migration

  • Repeated pain points: accessibility (screen readers), RDP/remote desktop, UI automation, window placement/restore, color management, RDP, KVM tools (Barrier/Synergy), some DAWs and VSTs, and various utilities (screen lockers, screenshot tools, status bars).
  • Many note these are being filled slowly via portals and new protocols, but frustration is high that basics are still rough ~17 years in.
  • Some see this as analogous to Python 2→3 or PulseAudio: technically motivated break that takes a decade+ to fully land.

Performance, Hardware, and Real‑World Experience

  • Reports are highly mixed:
    • Positive: no tearing, better multi‑monitor mixed DPI, fractional scaling, VRR/HDR, smoother gaming, Steam Deck support, more stable KDE/GNOME on modern AMD/Intel.
    • Negative: stutters, crashes, laggy alt‑tab, NVIDIA multi‑GPU issues, remote desktop quirks, broken games or apps, particularly on some distros.
  • Several note that many “Wayland is broken” claims are outdated on current GNOME/KDE, but others say they still hit those bugs today.

“Forcing,” Governance, and Culture

  • Strong disagreement over whether users are being “forced”:
    • One side: distros and DEs dropping X11 (e.g., GNOME, future KDE) effectively remove choice and impose migration costs on users.
    • Other side: FOSS developers owe no backward‑compatibility guarantees; users can stay on X, fork projects, or switch distros/DEs.
  • Broader worries emerge about fragmentation, ideology, and “tribalism” in FOSS, vs others embracing diversity of choices as the point of Linux.