“Based” is typically used to describe someone who says/does something without caring if they’ll be judged for it. Most commonly, it’s shorthand for “That’s a controversial opinion and you are bold for saying it, but I agree with you.” It turns the previous sentence into an adjective, which is a little weird but it makes sense eventually.

So if I had to choose a single word as a synonym, I would say “Bold”.

I’m probably going to end up back on Reddit to some extent, but I think Lemmy will stay in my rotation of stuff I open when I’m bored. Or until they inevitably kill old.reddit.com, then I’ll be outta there for good…