I think the big thing is that I just feel confident in having a direction to work toward, even if I have to leave it, then not having a direction at all.

As a GM, usually A. I look to what could be cool to see by the end of a session, and am totally prepared to drop the idea mid game. Some campaigns hit those notes perfectly.

Then you had Mage the Awakening which refused to humor me even once the entire 40+ session run.

Generally good! 80% of it was for pf2e.

I made sure to set expectations, learn the customer expectations, and try to work it out from there.

Ran long campaigns, birthday one shots (almost a bachelor's party one shot too), and other stuff in between.

Done both! Mostly the latter!

What portland needs is affordable housing, lower rent, a real plan to provide the homeless with a pathway off the streets that isn’t “just bulldoze the encampments”, and fluoridated water, not fucking federal goons sent in to stir up shit. I felt perfectly safe until reading that garbage, thanks.

Powell's out of Portland!

Depends on the system, medium and players for me, but generally a bit of both? It's more interesting to see what players do with information than gatekeeping it, so I think it comes down a mix; the given information doesn't have to be complete.