I'm conflicted between wondering if this is me just being chauvinistic, or if it's actually a low-key value-add for Pinafore that it doesn't have a million bells and whistles (which would probably make it slower, etc.). Maybe some users like a more stripped-down interface where the cheese doesn't move much?
Originally, my goal with Pinafore was to build what I thought was the "ideal" Mastodon UI from a technical perspective. Fast, accessible, offline-first, single-column, true virtual list, etc. Since then, the Mastodon frontend has caught up in a lot of ways (e.g. single column), so these things are less of a competitive advantage.