But think of all the incredible optimizations it allows the compiler to perform.
Nasal demons, faster than you could ever imagine!

In theory I would feel safe relying on HTTPS and HSTS.
In practice, I'm many-burned many-shy on security hubris, and would turn on a VPN.

I say this from experience. I got to talk to some professional gamedevs as a teen. I told them why I wanted to make games. They listened, and suggested that my true passion laid in computer science, not gamedev.

They were absolutely right, ridiculously so, and I am very grateful for their advice.

FWIW I'd argue pannenkoek-esque topics are more adjacent to computer science than gamedev. Not to imply one is better than the other, of course.

If anyone struggles with gamedev because they only really care about deeply technical problems like that, I'd suggest they study computer science instead.

The first few days are always pretty simple problems, but they do do exactly what you suggest. See e.g. 2021 day 6.

When they do those kinds of problems, it's usually the part 2 twist that makes the simple-but-suboptimal solution not work.

IMO the most incentive-aligned way to fund a platform like this is subscriptions with no functional features.

E.g. Receive a purely cosmetic "I donated" badge while the subscription lasts.

Whether or not the modern internet community can handle that kind of model is another question...