the answer isn't: it's fine because it's linux and you can use something else. The answer is: ok, it's broken, but it's GNU: you can fix it yourself!
For a project like nautilus, there are very few people with the resources and motivation to fix anything. So we end up with underdeveloped open source products.
Maybe we should try “we need better funding and coordination” for open source projects.
I used to think that surely the GNOME people had enough resources to develop feature X until I saw how few GNOME developers there really are for a project this size. Until more people join in and start developing in their free time, "basic" features people all want so badly simply won't appear any time soon.
And be thankful that you can use whatever manager you want. And don't have to use Apple's file manager.
To be honest, if you "freeze" an installation (i.e. never update anything), it works pretty well!
The difference between server and desktop packages seems to be professionalism - the latter just aren't developed/maintained to the same standards as the former. I love Linux and what you can do with theming, though, it's quite amazing.
If something is hindering one's ability to create an alternative file manager, there is probably a completely uncontroversial patch that can be sent upstream.