> I feel like this needs diagrams.

And there's the problem.

All of that stuff is well and good, but it seems like I have to have a fair degree of knowledge and technical skill, not to mention time and effort, to confirm that everything is as they're representing. And it's time and effort I'd have to expend on an ongoing basis.

That's not an expectation I could realistically meet, so in practice, I still have to just trust them.