I’m a part of Lemmy.zip for a few months now. Great server with transparent admins who post about server updates and such. It’s tech-oriented as an instance, but it’s federated, so you still have access to all other servers. I’m a computer nerd, hence why I picked it.

ASUS [routers] are fine. I’ve been using them for years (several models, lately their ExpertWifi EBM68). What’s the issue?

It’s not exactly difficult if you use Tailscale or really any VPN. So I really don’t see the value for the cost; if you’re even considering self hosting a Plex server/instance, there’s a list of basic knowledge you should have or learn (like what you mentioned).