Esto vale en Mate desktop o gnome sobre debian jessie, ubuntu 15, mint LMDE 2, y linux mint 17:
a la derecha
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout 'menu:minimize,maximize,close'
a la izquierda
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout 'close,maximize,minimize:menu'
Good information. Lucky me I found your site by chance (stumbleupon).
I have book-marked it for later!