Even though federation has led to racists and/or NATO defenders showing up, I've also encountered a number if very cool people from other instances posting things like helpful advice on federation stuff, vivid descriptions of getting vored by a pack of anthro-hyenas, interesting insights and opinions on Star Trek lore, etc. I still haven't found much in the way of active hobby communities, but it's pretty cool to see more Star Trek and furry stuff in the timeline, and I feel it makes having to deal with the occasional deranged lib worth it.
Anyways, to all the genuinely cool people who wander into Hexbear threads, I'm very glad you've showed up to bless us with your wonderful posts and I hope you stick around.
My hobby projects (mostly 3D printing and related) have been pretty slow since moving across the country for work, then getting laid off and having to move again, but I’ll hopefully be back at it soon enough.
Not sure if it counts but I’ve also been getting back into Blender/Unity for VRChat avatar stuff, which is fun. Maybe I should post about that when my avatar is decent enough to show off.