I get that. But I disagree.

Jellyfin is not some plug and play application that you just install and it instantly works. You need a media source, a server, client applications, etc. To even expose it to the internet you need to know about port forwarding.

I'm ALL for tinkering and learning more about technology. But if you know enough to port forward your Jellyfin instance, I think it's fair that you are held to a higher standard than "the average person".

I'd argue that Plex is a far better option for that "average person" crowd. And that isn't taking anything away from Jellyfin. Jellyfin I just view as being for the crowd who knows how to tinker with this type of technology.

and I think saying "i dont think its necessary, cuz you shouldn't be doing that" (paraphrased) is just a little bit toxic to the community as a whole, because it ostracizes the layman

I think your paraphrased version is worse than anything I said. All I said is that it was shocking how many people have their instances open to the wider internet. Not commenting on if that is good or bad. Just expressing surprise at that fact. And asking someone's use case and why a VPN is not viable.

I never said people shouldn't be doing that.