This item doesn't go away from my dock

Hm. Are you running Mint or maybe elementary OS? I ask because running a google search for "Create Launcher on the panel" (WITH the quotes) brings up answers on configuring the Panel in Linux Mint. That's what both Mint and eOS call it's "taskbar": the Panel. Also I'm using Mint and that's the only way to refer to that taskbar - as a Panel, like your error message does.

My (probably ignorant) guess is that you're running Mint or maybe eOS 6.1, and it's starting something up that's supposed to be hidden.

The first step seems to be to figure out what that icon is. We need to know what the app is that's running so we can address it. With my limited experience, I would probably just install Usage first. Usage will tell you the name of *everything* that's running. To install Usage, just open Synaptic and search for gnome-usage - that's the only result you'll get on that search.

The next thing I would do would be to check your startup apps and see if your mystery app is there. In Linux Mint it's under System Tools, Preferences, Startup Applications. If you don't see your app in the list, you should run the following from the command line:

sudo sed -i 's/NoDisplay=true/NoDisplay=false/g' /etc/xdg/autostart/*.desktop

On my system that displays *ALL* hidden startup apps, like every little hidden thing the OS uses. Check Startup Applications again for your app. If you find it in the Startup Applications, just click the little switch on the right to keep it from starting up.

If that doesn't work for you I would then open up a file manager (like Nemo) and go to the root of the filesystem. Then search for a file that matches the name you found in Usage. You'll get some kind of hits, and you can sort by directory and see what matches what you found.

At that point you need to do some searching. Go search online for the app name you found and see if it's got a listing somewhere. You need to know what the app is and why it's starting up. It could be a system file that's specific and necessary for your system alone, so you really need to know what it is to proceed.

Will disabling it in the Startup Apps kill your system? It might depending on what it is. Always back up your drive *before* making any system changes. You might be able to find a way to disable the mystery program, but you must know what it is to keep from harming your system.

If the above doesn't help you, let us know where the breakdown occurred. Looks like there are some pretty knowledgeable people here, so it's just a matter of time I'm sure. Good luck, beach dirge!