In this editorial, we shed light on the process how this special collection originated and evolved towards its publication. We highlight a few lessons stemming from the experience, in relation to the management of the collection, the relationship between the guest editors and the in-house Editorial Board, the peer review process and the findings and new questions generated by the contributions. These are non-exhaustive and do not aspire for an in-depth overview of the contributions, which we encourage readers to engage with in full.