Just started to research more into Monero recently. I was one of the people who used to think Monero was a "bad guy" thanks to the way tech journalists and mainstream media report and portrays it. After making a point to read about it and took the time to research, test and experience it. Monero seems to be the only crypto and chain that fully aligns with the ethos of Satoshi Nakamoto!
I was studying privacy coins and ZCash and Monero came into the picture. Read about the pros and cons of both and realized that there is a whole company, shareholders behind ZCash. Monero on the other hand is not. Also, Monero is privacy by standard and default whilst ZCash is privacy by option. So i gotta give it to Monero on this. Also, I'm a researcher and participant of the web3 ecosystem first, investor last. Thanks for the warm welcome!
Yes, Monero is community-based. That is warm and fuzzy, except frankly, this Lemmy instance is not always very peaceful… its users tend to be vocal and variously a bit weird.
XMR is an interesting experiment and, although not perfect, rather successful so far. Several privacy-friendly companies accept XMR as you can see on kycnot.me so it has its ecology. Like you said in your OP, this might be what Satoshi really wanted to create.
For many people it’s difficult to get out of the box—ditching Google, Windows, &c. You have chosen and joined Lemmy (Fedi), even though there may be a more “popular” place elsewhere in non-libre world. That’s why I said thanks!