Except it isn't as straightforward as most people would think. The last time I checked this, I think there were some issues with Bluesky app view and it didn't show accounts from a self hosted PDS

You may have seen a temporary bug.

It's completely straightforward and it works. Tens of thousands of users are doing it successfully.

https://blue.mackuba.eu/stats/

When was the last time you checked that? That is definitely not currently true and hasnt been for as long as I've used Bluesky.