Has anyone significantly house-ruled or altered the 5E skill system? Care to share?

[Ilbranteloth]

Actually, I started using the basic system after reading someone's posts talking about it on EN World a couple of years ago. Could have been you.

But, back on topic, I always treat knowledge checks as passive; I find that feeding the players information just makes everything run smoother.

It works great, doesn't it?

Yes, I do that to give them the basic information. I will allow checks for additional information. Kind of similar to finding a secret door. While finding it often helps and gives them a benefit (whether it's treasure, a short cut, a combat advantage, whatever) it's not essential.

I also use them for non-essential information. For example, we don't always play through a visit to town, so I'll have them make an Intelligence (Investigation) check to gather information and rumors.