what's the appeal to wm's?
A WM is required if you want to have windows and graphical applications. Every DE has a WM in it.
I'll just assume you mean "what's the appeal of using a WM without a DE".
I prefer to use a WM without a DE because when you install a DE it comes with all sorts of things that you might not want. For example, I used to like XFCE, but now I prefer pcmanfm over thunar, urxvt over xfce4-terminal, i3wm over xfwm4, etc.
Also I like tiling WMs and most DEs only allow floating WMs.
It all boils down to me wanting to pick and choose every little detail about my computer.
a bit harder than most since it doesn't do as much as most WMs
try it, it's great :D
Sure, I'll give it a go.
define love
tiling with gaps