> there is ABSOLUTELY some stuff on Github now that can be used to get the job done but has UI/API/code performance, consistency, and quality issues, that would've been unfathomable for the average OSS project in 2018

I will take time to address you comment fully, there are lots to unpack, but I'd like to stop here and point out that comparing "absolutely some stuff" from today to the "average 2018 project" might be unfair. If you are going to compare the bottom of the pile of synthetic code, you should do the same with organic code of back then lest you draw an unfair comparison.