There's a bit of learning curve for sure, but people shouldn't overthink the federation aspect too much. At least here on Kbin there is plenty of content already.

I think some of the problem too is not realizing that... it's kind of broken in a lot of ways and a lot of the times it's not super apparent why.

There's a lot of things that work in one instance and just don't in another, and I think the user frequently thinks it's because they're doing something wrong when in reality, whatever you're trying to do just isn't working right now.

I can't put aside my sneaking suspicion that can't figure out any of these tools: kbin, lemmy, mastodon, etc.... Is more or less code for, "I have reach and influence on platform x, and I need can't figure out how to be that person here."

Can they setup an account? Can they read? Can they write? These seem to all be achievable. Can they influence? Well... should that be the goal?

when you are used to reddit its not easy to make yourself feel at home in fediverse. The Lemmy themes dont look to good on widescreens.
I can recommend kbin with rounded corners + Stylus add-on with "kbin-it theme" activated.

The people who are still in the Reddit Alternatives subreddit still haven't moved over yet. You're looking at a subset of people who haven't made the move, not everyone.