This sub has always been ridiculed for being all about shoes and not actual barefoot. That's why, early on, the /r/barefoot sub was created, in fact.
I'm not gong to try to stop shoe discussions or questions. I also use shoes in addition to unshod and believe this sub is about better running first and foremost. Unshod and minimalist shoes are, in my opinion, the best tools for achieving that.
I also refuse to ever use the term "barefoot shoes." It implies a confusing and dangerous conflation. At best its an overly simplistic and reductive way to look at better running.
No shoe is "basically the same" as barefoot. That's like saying barefoot is "basically the same" as shoes. They're vastly different things.
Note that I did not say one is better than the other. It's apples vs oranges. I'm not a barefoot purist. If a business requires shoes I'll wear shoes. If I want to run in shoes I'll do that. If I want to keep my form from slacking I'll keep up the unshod running, too.
Overall I recommend not looking for either purist or quick solutions. Stay curious. Keep asking "are shoes better?" or "is unshod better?" and be fully unsatisfied with quick, dismissive answers to those. Be open to asking more questions the more you discover. Be open to shoes and unshod and keep experimenting.
Personally, I'll never recommend shoes. I don't have to. Plenty of you have loads of shoe recommendations and they will never stop nor should they. I'm making this sticky announcement as a simple reminder: don't neglect unshod as part of your essential equipment.