gdm3 not starting into gnome

[Ralf Mardorf]

>I installed the gnome package

So you installed https://packages.ubuntu.com/xenial/gnome ?

Instead of using a graphical package manager consider to use
command line.

For testing purpose you could install
https://packages.ubuntu.com/xenial/ubuntu-gnome-desktop .

Btw. https://packages.ubuntu.com/xenial/gnome-session contains the
file /usr/share/xsessions/gnome.desktop .

JFTR the gnome-session packages for bionic provide a
file /usr/share/xsessions/gnome-xorg.desktop .

However, I wonder that you edited something to make GNOME the default
DE. I never ever would use GNOME or E17, but I'm using lightdm on Arch
Linux, as well as on Ubuntu Xenial. The last chosen session
automatically becomes the default session for the next startup, so
actually there is nothing you need to edit.

Sorry, I can't help with Bodhi Linux. Instead of installing something
freakish, consider to install Xenial from the Ubuntu sever image by
unchecking all uncheckable default software, to get a real minimal
install or if you anyway want to go with GNOME, consider to install
Xenial from the Ubuntu GNOME image.

It's hard to understand what you actually did. For example, if you
installed a metapackage and later removed it, autoremove should remove
all dependencies.

"The packages installed through a metapackage are marked automatically
installed. Meaning, if the metapackage is removed, the package system
will suggest them for autoremoval unless you mark them as manually
installed. Although I believe that is not the case for metapackages
installed at system setup, only for those installed later." -
https://askubuntu.com/questions/679668/what-are-the-consequences-of-removing-metapackages

>Only, if he can't answer because he didn't touch that
>subsystem, it's quite logical to ask here, isn't it???

No it isn't. It's irrational to install a distro that isn't official
supported by this mailing list and then ask for support on this
mailing list, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuUsersListFAQ#FAQ1 .