I need to set --no-desktop via gconf for nautilus, I use OpenBox. I used to just set it like this
# Disable Nautilus desktop.
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop false &
# Do not let Nautilus set the background image.
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /desktop/gnome/background/draw_background false &
However, I find this does not work in Ubuntu 11.10. Has something changed in gconf? Might it have anything to do with Gsettings? In the mean time, I just added --no-desktop to my .desktop shortcuts. This is not a solid long term solution for me, for a few reasons. Anytime you upgrade the nautilus package, those changes will overwrite. Much more importantly, Anything that launches nautilus another way wont use --no-desktop. If anyone can help, it would be much appreciated.
BTW: gconf-editor let me view my settings, but no schema for nautilus even existed.