Finally out π
this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2023
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The subscription model is not a great idea considering lemmy is not as popular as reddit.
I hate ads and will never download an app that has ads for a platform that doesn't have ads, just so I have to pay to get rid of ads (which of course includes tracking you for the best ads).
"No added ads" is a non-feature.
I understand people wanting to support the dev, but is their code so bad that they really have to add ads to make money? Apollo never had ads.
What's the connection between code quality and adding ads to make money?
You can either charge for good code or for no-ads.
Charging for no-ads on an opensource platform is just sad. Why not enrich instead?
Edit: Apollo was made for Reddit, some smug corp. and even they didn't have ads. Ads on opensource is misusing opensource.
I don't agree with the premise that you can only charge for one or the other though. The Sync dev has a track record of putting out a very performant app for close to a decade. A one time ad removal fee and an optional subscription is pretty reasonable IMO.
I get the philosophical problems you have with it though. In the end I'm still using it because I paid like $5 none years ago and got way more than my money's worth with it on Reddit. The ad unlock is more expensive here, but it's probably an early adopter tax with the user base here being a tiny fraction of Reddit.
As for Apollo, I'm not sure how many Apple users pay for apps but if I had to guess they probably outnumber android users easily.
It also feels dirty to use an app only available in the Apple ecosystem as a paragon of open source ideals. That's a pretty adaptive Stallman meter.
Ads shouldn't even be a topic of discussion. Before Sync there were no ads related to Lemmy. How much harder can you piss in the face of all other people contributing.
It seems we have some fundamental differences in opinion here. I don't think it's pissing in anybody's face for a full time dev to make money off a free offering of their product. The app has never had ads for me since I block them at the DNS level. I still paid for it to support an app that's going to dominate my screen on time just like it did on Reddit.
Like you said, the rest of the apps don't currently have ads. A lot of their devs also said they'd never have them. That's great for them. I don't how many of them do this at a full time job either. Or how long they'll continue to support their apps under their current models (aside from Jerboa which is developed by one of the Lemmy devs)
It would be great if Sync could rely only on donos, but the amount of people bitching about a one time $20 purchase being too expensive or expecting to transfer their $1 purchase of Sync for Reddit 9 years ago to Lemmy has me thinking that's just a pipe dream.
If it's not worth it to you go ahead and use a different app. It's still not pissing in anybody's face no matter how much you don't like it.
If you read my comment you know I never said I expect anyone to work for free. Don't put those words in my mouth, if it is what you are thinking yourself.
Yes I prefer up front payment over ads (in the EU you have a right to withdrawal your purchase if you regret).
I prefer not having tech at all over having Google's ads. Even 1 ad before being able to remove those ads, on an ad free platform. Any developer working with Google ads is not trustworthy.
Instead, support and donate to your instance. Those people work just as hard if not harder.
Just a heads up, Sync's just been updated with a one-time payment for permanently removing ads. The Sync dev is just one guy working on it full time, so I think the pricing ($20/β¬20) is fair.
That's great. Enjoy it.
iOS users are more likely to pay for apps. ad-supported is common. Of course you could so both.
I'm a dev myself. I'd never disrespect my userbase by adding ads and tracking to my products. Instead, they can choose to pay for real features.
Edit: But Sync are free to do as they wish. Just weird that they add ads to an ad-free platform. You're paying for the problem they created, not for innovation.