Icon snap / icon spacing too big!

["DARKGuy ." <dark guy 2008 gmail com>]

Hey guys :)

I've been a long time Gnome user since 2.0 was released, and I'm
really impressed how it's really superior to KDE in most aspects, it's
simpler to configure and it looks better :D. However, simplicity can
sometimes backfire... but it isn't something to be reckless about!.

I love desktop icons, I'm no 1337 h4x Üb3r hardcore Linux user who
goes using ratpoison or full CLI and still lives in the 80's (no
offense), I use Gnome which looks friendlier and I can use my mouse
and keyboard happily together, in an environment I'm comfortable
with...

Right?

Well, aside from desktop icons. I love them, but their spacing is
just... ridiculous! I mean, trying to place icons at the right of the
desktop in a 1280x1024 resolution is bad because some icons get their
label cut at the right or they're too far to the right edge compared
to the spacing that's in the icons at the left edge of the screen.
Bottom is alright, as long as you have one-line height labels for
those icons, maybe two.

My biggest complaint is the horizontal spacing, is outrageous compared
to the vertical spacing which, can sometimes overlap icons. What the
hell? not to sound rude or anything, but KDE and Windows have better
icon spacing and management than Gnome, and this issue has been going
on for more than a lot of versions now.

Who had the big idea of having the icon spacing set in ... DEFINES???
I mean, nobody thought about ... don't know, making it a variable and
read it on a config file, whose values could be easily changed by, ok,
maybe not the "official" theme changer app, but a gconf-editor of
sorts or maybe some other "gnome tweaking app" that some random happy
developer made?.

So, I wanted to write a bugzilla about it but I don't consider it a
bug but more like a feature, a feature that's been wished for in years
I'm sure, a feature that other DEs have, so, why Gnome doesn't?. Its
icon spacing is something that has been overlooked or something, I'd
bet...

I'd be happy to do it if I knew how. All I'd need to know is to see
how do I get the latest source code for compiling in Arch Linux, maybe
some C++, edit the theme changing app to have two choosers for
vertical and horizontal icon spacing and having libnautilus read those
values from a config file instead of having it in (counter-efficient)
defines. If not, then I'd like to watch the progress of this as I use
Gnome daily and that is something that really, REALLY bothers me - a
lot. I don't use other DEs because I consider Gnome far superior than
the rest - but this is a feature that I really miss.... or like.

Kind regards,
- DARKGuy.