with the choices being Xfce (default), Enlightenment, and LXDE.
I agree. Seems like a great combination, and all these are relatively light.
(I guess having vl with E17 as default would make it quite unique, but I don't know how stable it is for that)
The problem seems to be that xfce 4.6 is only coming in December so we wouldn't have time to test it properly before releasing. In the end, the package will show up in the repo, and (at least some) users will upgrade, with whatever problems that may bring. I remember this being discussed before, but I would favour a shorter release schedule for vl. Perhaps a release with pretty much only the graphical installer, and a later release (say, 6 months) with the new xfce. I'm aware this must be very difficult (for developers, packagers, and testers), but I think it would really get the word out more.
As for the apps, by having the gnome libs we could invest in having a great app mix. That could be what would make vl a bit more distinctive: the combination of apps both light and not so light (some of them gnome apps).
It doesn't have to be gnome, the same thing can be done by having kdelibs and kdebase. And, say, Amarok and k3b on top of that, or some other kde package.
And, of course, users could then choose if they want this stuff at install time. The counterargument being "what's the point in this, if users can also just install a simple system and then go to the repo and get gnome and kde apps, if they feel like it?".
Which brings us back to the repo, which should be quite beefed up by the time of release....
Choices, choices.....