i've never heard leftist used in a derogatory way. I usually see it used to differentiate from 'liberal' or whatever the predominant and usually watered down left leaning movement is in the country in question

I agree, and I always want to know what TikTok is taking that facebook, twitter, etc aren't also taking

ah, that must be why hundreds of people have contributed to one of the most popular and highest quality operating systems for free over the last few decades.

the profit incentive is not the only motive to do quality work, and i think there's plenty of examples that it's not even the best incentive.

I crochet for a hobby so I can make gifts for my friends and family. I've put hundreds of hours in and started from scratch just to undo a mistake, and i've never been paid a penny.

I think what you're talking about is mesh networking?

Agreed, it's incredibly tedious. It also creates a really toxic "oh, we're real programmers over here, JS devs suck" kinda vibe which can be incredibly unwelcoming especially to newer devs who might be seeking a community.