Immediately after being accepted to a public (unix|9front|.*), the pervasive question is, "What am I doing here?". In order to answer that question, you need answer another: "What do I do with my computer?". Considering you know how to use OpenSSH, you likely do one or more of the following with you computer on a regular basis:
A public server to do each of these from may improve upon your existing experience. You may have a troff installation that may be accessed from any computer with SSH, and resume your typesetting from any such computer as you please. You may have a robust programming environment just as portable, with go, gcc, and gdb. You may access your favorite IRC network, disconnect from your shell account, and reconnect to your shell account with your IRC client still connected and buffered with messages you may have otherwise missed. In any case, your favorite editor is always accessible, and there is no administration to handle, simply usage.
Beyond that much, a public server may allow new modes of interaction. Want to share a file with a friend? Simply send them a path name. Want to send a file to them exclusively? Restrict the read permissions to you and them. If you've got something worth sharing with the world, chances are good your public server allows the sharing of content via http, gemini, or gopher. As a real example, I am writing this over SSH using sam remotely. Here's what that looks like:
