Fediverse

Piefed by default auto-subscribes accounts to a curated set of communities

When I first signed up, I was given a 'checkbox system' to subscribe to /c's of interest. IIRC I also had the option of signing up for none. That said, if PF auto-subscribes to some core communities (like META, help, Fediverse, etc), then I'm not really seeing a problem?

auto-hides downvoted content and downvoted posters

I mean... I see plenty of downvoted content & posters in my subscribed feed. Maybe that's not the case with ALL, tho? TBH, that sounds like SOP in terms of social media.

attaches icons to accounts to mark those that have beyond a particular threshold of downvotes

I like it, as that generally helps identify low-effort & toxic posters. I guess I can see the point though that it might accidentally sweep up others, simply because they're challenging or whatnot. On the whole though, I certainly don't have a problem with that little bit of extra info, which I'm free to do with as I please.

entirely blocks links to a curated set of sites because Rimu deemed them to be unacceptable.

Yeah. Personally I would have liked to have some access to various NSFW content, as I'm not a child, but then again, PF.S is Rimu's home instance, and as the dev and head admin, I absolutely do not have a problem with him doing that. I mean, if I really wanted to work around that, there are plenty of other PF instances as a base...

So at the end of the day, you seem to be calling someone a "bit of a twat" based on policy decisions. Someone who's donated loads of his personal time, effort and brainwaves to a community project for loads of others to enjoy. Can't say that sounds particularly cool to me, mate.