For what it's worth, I knew virtually nothing about Devuan until I saw an article referencing the "pwned" page and it prompted me to research the project. Now I have a registered account on the project forum. Was it the most effective form of marketing? Hard to say. At the very least we know based on responses that it had a double-edge to it. I can certainly understand existing users' frustration if it blocked work getting done.

Just flashed ascii release to usb. Maybe I'll install a gopher client once it's up and running