Gnome Panel Sucks

What year is this? How long has the damn Gnome Panel been around? It's 2008 and the panel has been around for just under 733 years.

Yet somehow the panel remains the most visible AND the least-configurable part of the desktop. Case in point: try changing the font color.

"Hey, you can edit the config file!"

I'll give you something to edit...

"Well then why don't you use something like Emerald to theme your desktop?"

Why don't you recommend something that doesn't suck eggs?

The Gnome panel continues to look and behave like something straight out of 1995. Year of the Linux Desktop my ass.