[2021] There seems to be low interest in mods, why is that?

I was thinking about mods and rebalancing in Eco and I'm curious what server owners have to say on the matter. And also I'm curious if players have the appetite for a rebalancing mod.

I've played through several games now but rarely do I see mods outside of big shovel used why is that? I'd kinda expect to see a mod appear that aims to extend the base game with extra recipes, resources, and rebalancing but I don't see a lot of that happening. Instead I see whole new professions being created such as Bee Keeping or quality of life improvements such as the big shovel.

Not sure if others agree but one thing I wish we had more of was less reliance on mining/smelting in the mid game (just after lumber and before composites). I have some development experience so I might take a stab at it but is there any appetite for this?

A summary of what this might look like:
- New recipes that try to make logging, farming, and milling more relevant to other professions.
- Also trying to add a bit of variety such reducing the dependence on the desert biome.
- Specifically adding things such as potash that can be used in fertilizers, cement, and some advanced recipes.
- Adding bronze and tin ore to provide an alternative use for copper and competition for iron.
- Rubber trees that are used to make natural rubber as an early source for rubber to augment mid game recipes and competition for late game synthetic rubber.
- And probably more...

Does this sound like something a server is likely to use and if not, why not?

Also similarly, are there any other opinions about little improvements like this?