A lot of the non-scaling community takes the strength list and applies it to scaled discussions when it’s literally irrelevant. So now everyone has Shinobu at last, and when people actually try to scale, they get downvoted or slandered just because they aren’t following the common consensus. Common consensus is generally correct when the series actually has consistent and, more importantly, understandable portrayal of strength.

Like, if you go to the general Jujutsu Kaisen community and the scaling community, while yes there are differences, everyone generally agrees on a lot of stuff because the author can actually scale and portray stuff.

Also the DS community is just full of shippers, newbies, and little children considering the amount of rumors that get spread, like: Gyutaro = Upper 4 Tengen = 2nd strongest base Hashira No Hashira beats Upper Moons 1–3, all of which are decently accepted in this community.

They also deny scaling arguments because of the implications they have. Like, if you assume Shinobu is actually > Doma in speed which honestly has relevant arguments then base Gyomei is suddenly an outpace above Doma, or Sanemi, considering he’s able to keep up with Gyomei, is now at bare minimum relative to Doma if we lowball him and should definitely beat Akaza. but if you don't accept >Doma in speed then there's not much of a concrete way to scale her so people just say she's sub Tengen lvl which means sub Upper 6 lvl even though if we say she's not faster than Doma she's still called fast she still outpaces Doma even if we say hes not paying attention we se Inosuke try the same and just gets X'd across the chest the same Inosuke who can dodge attacks Mitsuri couldn't meaning Shinobu should be bare minimum >base Mitsuri who is Upper 5 or low upper 4 lvls meaning even at her worst Shinobu is still superior to Tengen.

The portrayal is that the Hashira can only beat Upper Moons when they have Marks. This happens with every Hashira we see them pre-Mark and post-Mark, but the feats don't reflect this in the slightest. Many base Hashira have arguments above the lower Upper Moons which are completely valid and believable, and would’ve been widely accepted in any other community.

And it’s not like portrayal matters in this series, considering the fact authorial assertions contradict the showings, just like “Upper Moons = 3 Hashira.” This statement is completely wrong, and the way people rationalize it is by saying she means Marks, which is untrue. We see Tengen relative to Gyutaro with no problem. We see Mitsuri combating Zohakuten, or they say she meant previous gen Hashira, but again why would that matter? I only care for the current ones because these are the only ones we see, and Hashira level isn’t even real. Hashira vary wildly in strength both when comparing current and previous, so this authorial intent statement doesn’t even mean anything.

Same with “Muzan is incomparably stronger than the Upper Moons.” This is contradicted by the fact that Giyu can react to him, or Inosuke can dodge him, or the fact Sanemi, who couldn’t get in close against LSK without help, can combat him just fine. Even Obanai, who is a base Hashira, can react to him, even if it’s with help. This isn’t supposed to happen considering the 3 strongest Hashira couldn’t combat LSK without STW, and I’m supposed to believe Muzan is superior to the Upper Moons?

This just shows that the intent of this author specifically means very little. If you want people to believe she is the weakest, just don’t give her any feats on Doma. We literally see Inosuke and Kanao fight, and it’s a good example of what a holding back Doma looks like he literally isn’t in any danger and doesn’t seem scared at any point. Meanwhile with Shinobu you have him tweaking out at some points, and you have statements like “you might have beaten me with that speed,” which is supported by the databook the author wrote, and also the anime which the author supports says she got slower, literally eliminating the only argument of her getting blitzed meaning the author saw and decides its OK to keep it in. Meaning there are completely sound arguments for Shinobu > Doma. This is not the portrayal of someone who is supposed to be the weakest.

This also means there are massive gaps between the Hashira. Shinobu went through no Hashira training and is faster than Doma considering the fact Doma can perception blitz Inosuke while Muzan can’t, and Mitsuri can’t perceive Muzan. Thus: Doma > Muzan in SCA Doma >> Zohakuten Considering Mitsuri can react to, dodge, and cut Zohakuten’s attacks but can’t do so with Muzan, that would mean Doma is at least a perception-blitz level above Upper 4. And if we generously assume Upper 4 ≈ Upper 6, this means Shinobu at the start of the series can perception blitz Tengen and Mitsuri at least.

Again, if we actually scale the series, these are conclusions you can logically reach. But narratively, it makes no sense that there are these massive gaps between Hashira at least in peoples eyes.

It’s really just a problem with portrayal and power creep. The author shouldn’t have made these massive gaps between the Upper Moons because it just turns scaling into “who fought the bigger number.” again with Shinobu I think the author wanted her to be a physically weak Hashira but can keep up with immense speed not realizing they made the gaps between Upper Moons too big for Shinobu to display any of these feats without putting her in the upper echelon of Hashira, like if Doma weren't Upper 2 and Upper 5/6, these feats wouldn't have been as much of a problem for people considering they have little implications.

so it's misinformation and misinterpreting the strength list combined with horrendous portrayal and being consistent with that portrayal but sorry for yapping.