Not sure, but it's possible that Tailscale wasn't popular when I found Yggdrasil. That might be the whole answer. I discovered it because I’ve had an interest in mesh networks and alternative networking. I also have a preference for services that I can configure via text and control from the terminal. These things are so seamless on Linux that I’d find GUIs more of a hassle. Text files are easy to transfer between computers. And they’re so wonderfully explicit: you can just read what’s in them.

And I don't like it when I see the word “Pricing” on a project's website. It makes me suspicious. I can rely on gifts to the world like Linux, Debian, PostgreSQL, Apache, Nginx, Caddy, and Yggdrasil without any problems for decades. Commercial software products turn into shit sooner or later. I’m happy to pay for things, but paradoxically, software seems to be good and stay good only when it’s gifted.

I’m vaguely familiar with Tailscale from work. The licensing model restricts usage. The central control plane is closed-source. Someone built an open-source implementation. Then they hired the lead maintainer. It’s the usual business nonsense that could lead to them being bought by Google or Meta, or trying to monetize my metadata, or shoving ads down my throat, or doing something stupid with AI. I’d rather stick with Yggdrasil.