When the mempool is congested, queuing really feels like rush hour on the subway: you toss your transaction in, and it’s just standing among a bunch of “waiting to board” people. Miners/ordering algorithms then pick who offers the better tip or who’s less likely to cause trouble to include first. Speeding up = paying more, not speeding up = waiting patiently, and if it expires, you might end up stuck for nothing (basically, you think you clicked send, but you’re still waiting in line).

Recently, the NFT royalty debate is also quite structurally similar: everyone wants to be “prioritized,” but the secondary market focuses on cost and liquidity. With fees/royalties stacking up, the queue naturally becomes more crowded and picky.

I see complexity as the enemy: don’t expect the system to take care of you. When congested, you either pay to get a spot or accept the slow pace. Anyway, I now prefer to keep things simple, set parameters clearly, and avoid transactions awkwardly sitting in line for too long.