Why is Gnome the reason people don't stay on linux?

The article makes it look great to anyone familiar with macOS, which while it has faults is generally regarded as a pretty good OS GUI.

Is there something bad about Gnome the article is missing?

One of the reasons I enjoy using linux is the endless things you can customize, including the DE. You can easily switch your DE to something more inline with your preferences. Or you can install a spin with your preferred DE already enabled.