Are these steps for re-installing Gnome correct/safe?

[dave at tokyocomedy.com (Dave Gutteridge)]

Something is not right here.

I've tried *all* the suggestions in this thread, and yet still my Gnome 
environment has not gone back to the default. My theme is all screwy, 
and there are items missing from my panel, and other weirdness.

What does it take to reset Gnome to it's original default settings?

Dave