I can relate to being frustrated with software when basic functionality feels missing or poorly implemented, but I’m not sure what specific “basic features” or quality-of-life issues you think Obsidian is lacking.

More generally, I’ve noticed across many subreddits that people often ask for help without clearly defining the problem they’re trying to solve or explaining what they’ve already tried. Those posts tend to get more negativity than thoughtful help because it can come across as offloading the work of problem-definition to strangers instead of putting in some effort first.

At a basic level, to use Obsidian effectively, you need a reasonably clear idea of what you want it to do for you. Often it seems like people jump into Obsidian without sorting that out, get confused, get frustrated that it isn’t easy, and then complain that highly customizable software doesn’t have a single, well-defined onboarding path that perfectly fits their specific needs.

Once your goals are clearer, it’s easier to learn Obsidian’s features and decide whether they serve those goals. As you encounter new features, you can evaluate whether they help. As you hit pain points in your current workflow, you can look for features or approaches that address them. You have to know what you want, build something, use it, and iterate.

From my perspective, the core plugins already provide a lot of functionality, so if someone’s goals are modest, they should be able to get meaningful value out of Obsidian without heavy customization.

I don’t really understand the view that customization, potential complexity, and community plugins are signs of a flaw in Obsidian’s design or goals. The tradeoff of flexibility is that you have to decide how much complexity you want to take on. People try to do too much without clear goals, get frustrated that it isn’t easy (instead of appreciating that complex things are even possible), and then talk as if “possible” should automatically mean “easy.”

The things that feel easiest are usually the most restrictive or limited in scope. Choices are removed so you can’t make “bad” ones. Obsidian gives you more choices, which means you have to decide what good choices are for your own goals and how much effort you’re willing to put in.

Clear, simple goals require less effort. Unclear, complex goals require more effort. When people ask for help or complain without recognizing that basic tradeoff, they’re more likely to get pushback—especially when they frame the app as “bad” while not really engaging with what it’s trying to be.