Yeah those are solid points and I agree with your balanced opinion. The fundamentals such as cost and second layer are certainly vital to the health of the platform, and need to be constantly improved. The issue then is that they aren't at all sexy to the average user (who likely don't even understand it.)

The product users care about and interact with is how the content arrives before their eyes and how they are able to connect with other users... and THAT.. has improved little. So the moves to try drive traffic to Hive, even in a time when there's a golden opportunity, won't attract or retain many users because a fragmented experience is not something people see as a superior alternative.

2021 could be a good year!
This chain has great potential.