I do have to search for the account on my local instance to start following them instead of being able to click follow right there, but that is a minor annoyance
From the outside, it seems like an easy problem to solve but with all the multiple domains and the way federation itself works there is no quick/easy fix that doesn't bring other assorted problems into play
In general this high judgementalism really should have a tiny smidge of humility & respect in it. That lacks. You could improve.
If tech is interesting & compelling & there are some people there already doing the thing, people will overcome enormous barriers & learn lots to come participate.
Few of these systems are truly self apparent- all of them require enormous learning & training & sociation. But we dont see that because we so happen to have been using the same tech for a decade or two now, more or less. The "availability heuristic" tells us what we know is easy, and what we dont know is hard. This can deceieve.
Are Mastadon or the other activitypub systems really hard? Honestly I quite doubt it. But we are improving & making the experiences better over time. And more so, just as you were served as an in the know peer to bridge the Availabity Hueristic gap, the community grows & is better able to bring this knowledge to those who only learned how to exist inside the Walled Gardens.