The bullet-point summary:

• reachability - make sure nodes can connect to yours
• latency. Tor seems to be problematic. People like @DarthCoin have written extensively about this
• interconnectedness - open channels with people! the less hops the better
• liquidity - seems to be more complex than just "more sats", will be covered in a separate piece

We have to face reality; Lightning Network doesn't yet allow the same level of reliability as current payment systems or Bitcoin on-chain payments. It is still pretty common to experience failed, or unusually long, payments.

It's good to be realistic.

Great comparison!
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a77546c-818d-4600-a156-b1e36e13c0e2_578x222.png

My node is more than ready, it's the merchants around me who unknowingly choose to keep paying the VISA tax instead of accepting my sats.

Cool article, it gave me some improvement ideas!