my #linux UI hot take is that GNOME is actually better for getting people to adopt linux than KDE Plasma, including for those who are familiar with ms windows
if someone is transitioning to an entirely different operating system and user interface, you might think that starting off with something that looks a lot like windows might help, but what it really does is implant an expectation of "oh, things will basically be the same here" that inevitably leads to disappointment and regret when it eventually doesn't
in my opinion, it is healthier to start with something that doesn't look like either windows or macOS, and has its own design ideology, and let the user build up new habits and skills as they figure out that while some things will be familiar enough (such as overall concepts of windows, files and folders, drag and drop), other things are very different (no drive letters, software installable via repositories, perhaps even the command line)