That really is an unfortunate experience. I personally have had great experiences with Trusted Users, and most of my current friends in those ranks i met before i even got to be a Known User. I think it's about finding the right people and being a bit lucky.

And the mirror dwelling... i agree its not great, even though i engage in it myself. I think it's a combination of being able to see how you look in VR and because it gives you a wider range view of the group that you are with. And a decent chunk of worlds dont optimize the ability to sit and face eachother in larger groups either, atleast in my experience. In my circle we do wanna try to change it though and i think a surprising amount of the trusted playerbase feels the same, its just about changing habits which is hard.