Local note taking (org-mode) alternatives + unsolicited [Site Development] suggestion

Questions
1

After trying (and giving up on) Emacs ‘org mode’ in the span of TWO DAYS in total, I would appreciate suggestions for a simpler and saner alternative for a locally stored privacy respecting note taking app. I’ll divide this post into two parts:

  1. I really think the org-mode section in the “Notebooks” recommendation subpage could benefit from an ADVANCED/POWER USERS ONLY disclaimer. I know this suggestion wasn’t asked for, and people will disagree, but it’s just my 2c:
    1a. I got fed up trying to work around Emacs countless eccentricities and steep learning curve, and honestly, I could see many other people not having the time or energy to put in the dedication of committing to such an advanced program as well.
    1b. The most frustrating aspect of Emacs for me was the fact that it seems way too easy to get trapped in a keybind “sub-menu” with no way out except for button-mashing or relaunching the program. I could be a moron, but it seems like a glaring antipattern to do something wrong and have 0 indication on what you did wrong???
    1c. In juxtaposition with a remotely different software, like, say, LibreOffice Writer, you simply press the INSERTkey to enter overwrite mode, and press INSERT again to leave overwrite Mode; to make things easier to the user, a dialogue window (that you can choose to disable) pops up to let the user know what exactly they are doing, and how they can leave said mode if this was a mistake or they are finished overwriting.
    1d. To create a new document? Use the ubiquitous Ctrl + N. Extremely fast, simple, and easy to memorize.
    1e. Just to make sure we’re on the same page, I think it would be beneficial to everyone if Privacy Guides made it clear “org mode” was targeting a more niche group of users, and that user friendliness is not a concept Emacs focuses on.

  2. I need a Notebook taking app that stores files LOCALLY by default (aka self hosted.) No having to manually ‘backup’ notes to my device, storing my notes on my device and only having cloud storage or any ‘phoning home’ functionality as opt-in. I’m not too picky but I would prefer one that has all or most of the following features:
    2a. NOT PAYWALLING BASIC FEATURES. I know, I KNOW these are rough times and developers have to eat, but all I ask for is that a program does not lock what we would consider to be core features, like toolbar customizing, behind a paywall.
    2b. Basic markdown features and automatic formatting that one would find across ALL other related apps: (Bold, italics, bold + italics, underlining, fonts, code blocks, list creation AND automatic formatting, heading/paragraph formatting, etc etc.
    2c. A file tree and a “database manager” of sorts. Having the functionality to create a “wiki” would be excellent.
    2d. Note linking, tag creation and management.
    2e. Enough user customizibility to allow for a better UX if one does not like how some features perform.
    2f. Extension and theme support and management (I can live without this, its just always nice to have.)
    2g. A somewhat mature development lifetime, and is still, and will continue to be, actively maintained and updated for the foreseeable future.

  3. If worse comes to shove, I can always go back to Obsidian. I just prefer open source and transparent software.

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