-
I don’t get this at all.
Staying dry, well if you’re camping on wet ground and it’s not raining then you have clearly picked a bad spot. If it is raining the whole tent will be wet, what’s the point.
Protecting the base, what are you camping on? A bed of nails? Even my cuben bottom tent which I did 100 nights in never got close to having the bottom injured.
Want something to lie on, just lie on the whole tent flat.
Maybe this comes across as agro but I’ve never seen any good reason for a groundsheet.
platypus-
I like to pack and keep the tent as clean and protected as possible. The groundsheet keeps any mud or sludge separate from a screwed up packed tent. I've camped on a ton of different surfaces and prefer not to expose the floor directly to the ground if a cheap sheet can help. Lying on the tent flat would mean I have toggles and zips in the way. The groundsheet also means you can go through packing up the tent / emptying repacking panniers etc. and not do it on the bare ground, but on a surface. For me that helps keep the inner better too and less pegs etc. lost. It also folds out big and can supplement as another tarp /bike cover / all sorts if needed.
It's not aggro, we all have different ways. To me the usefulness of something so light and cheap makes it worth adding on a long trip if you are camping in unknown situations.
Squaredisk
I'm a fan of a cheap extra groundsheet. Means you can set up your tent on top in the same condition each time and it mostly stays clean and dry. Special, expensive footprints not worth it, but groundsheet layer can come in handy as place to lie, extra shelter etc. Depending on conditions you pitch on.