It's a complicated beast. To start with the fact that no one is here doesn't help. People do like the polished and pretty where their friends are. They often don't want to post to strangers, especially if it's something heartfelt or personal.

Then you have the image, what can be posted here? Long form content? Serious writing? A lot of people literally want to write fluffy things about finding a penny under their sofa. They look here and see serious blogs, often about the platform itself or crypto. It's a daunting thing for them.

And then, as you state, the money thing. They see it, they want it, they don't get it, they rage quit.

But in the main, I think the lack of focus is a biggie. What are we? A blogging platform or social media? We truly need to know who we are and be sure of it to attract users. Yeah, it can be tweaked through various front end but they don't know either.