I'm now looking at whether the project is actually working; the most straightforward indicator isn't how beautifully the roadmap is written, but where the treasury funds have gone.

Don't just write "ecosystem expansion" for milestones; I want to see: what was actually delivered this quarter, how much was spent, who is responsible, and how to explain if it wasn't completed.
Many cases of "gentle exit" are just slowly converting funds into various consulting fees, marketing expenses, conference sponsorships, and once you look at the chain, the expenditure rhythm looks very much like water leakage.

Recently, modularization and the DA layer narrative have excited developers, and it's normal for users to be confused... but the more these concepts heat up, the more we need to watch the treasury: are they just using "popular science/BD" as a万能桶 (all-in-one bucket), with a lot of money spent but the product still stuck in P图 (Photoshop editing).

For me, "long-term" isn't that mysterious; roughly one quarter.
If they can deliver continuously for three months as promised, and the expenditure structure hasn't suddenly changed shape, then I consider it a serious project.
Anyway, I prefer to go slow rather than be gently harvested.