Good questions. I wish I would have clarified that and I will do so in the documentation for sure.

The push to self-host was rekindled because my host (Hostinger), like most hosts, don't allow file sharing, so I could not run NextCloud on their servers. So, I installed NextCloud on my server and then realized I wanted more copies of it running for clients and myself. To do that, I needed a reverse-proxy and certs for an SSL. The easiest way to do that is with Docker. Also, a new CRM I wanted to try out, Corteza is only available as a Docker image.

Messing with web-apps like NextCloud, WordPress, and CRMs is what I like to do, so now I can. Some new ones only come as Docker images, and they all are available.

Security is certainly increased, with the large caveat "if done right", because it is under my control. I view it as an opportunity to learn more about security.

It doesn't really add to decentralization, other than it is the easiest way to run some web-apps that I otherwise wouldn't have access to. Unfortunately, I still need domain names and that is a real centralized problem.

So, the tl:dr is I do it because it is the easiest and also most versatile way to try out and use stuff I wouldn't otherwise be able to and it is limited only by my hardware and connection.