Ok, so as a heavy user of Bambu printers:

> I didn't understand what people wanted here

Great: very few people care enough to actually try to understand! This is very much appreciated.

> What users want is to "have their cake and eat it too;" they want the local token authentication _and_ the cloud authentication enabled at the same time

No.

What I want is to use any slicer software (specifically OrcaSlicer, which is really good) with Bambu printers without losing functionality.

What most people who do not use 3d printing regularly do not understand is that there is more to 3d printing than just throwing a sliced file over the wall. For example, before I slice, I sync information from the printer so that the list of filaments I have in the slicer reflects what is actually in the printer. This sounds silly to people who imagine a printer with a single spool of filament loaded, but when you have multiple printers, each one with an AMS unit housing 4 spools, this becomes essential.

Please also remember that many people have printers in remote locations (workshop). "LAN mode" is a non-starter unless you set up a VPN.

I also want to monitor my prints using my phone, which is what Bambu Lab sold me: it is part of the functionality of the printer. I do not want to lose that functionality.

In other words, "LAN/Developer Mode" is NOT EQUIVALENT to "Cloud" mode (which used to work well with OrcaSlicer until Bambu killed it).