I strongly agree.

I find personal viewpoints way more interesting to read and easier to relate to. And I’d also like to post more of my own, but it doesn’t seem to be the ‘done thing’ for some reason, which is off-putting. I don’t know if there is a genuine thought-out reason for this on the part of moderators, or whether it’s some kind of unconscious internet tradition 🤷

It’s a missed opportunity for connection between people.

Give it time 👍

GoToSocial supports RSS and is extremely lightweight. Posts and account also federate, and you can use Mastodon client apps on desktop and mobile to write posts (no web UI). Might be worth a look 👍