this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2023
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This discourse in these comments is stupid. People can complain about Sync if they have something to complain about. It's a fucking forum. Personally I hate the idea of restricting features and using ads to get people to pay, especially when I have several FOSS apps that work perfectly for me, I don't think Sync feels any more "slick".
There, that's my opinion. I don't like Sync and I'm not attacking anyone for using it.
As a Sync user, I support this comment. The fact that these debates occur is precisely due to the fact that people have the freedom of choice, and that's something to celebrate.
Sync doesn't have to be "better" or "worse" than other apps and vice versa. People should pick what they like. I pick it because it feels like home after having used it for almost 10 years. Doesn't mean it's better.
I fully agree! I have no idea why would I need to pay $20 for an app when I have a bunch of alternatives that I like even more. Welp, I even like to use a browser instead of an app sometimes. But people are excited and are going to Lemmy, which is a good thing
Damn I loved Sync for reddit. Paid like $3 for the pro version, removing ads. Not sure I can make myself pay $20 though. Something like $5-$8 would be more reasonable.
I hear you but I also paid like $3-5 for pro and used it daily for years. It probably works out to pennies per month if you do the math. I don't get the sense LJDawson is lighting cigars with $100 bills. With the old model he got paid the price of a coffee... once. I'd imagine that a subscription model at least guarantees him a somewhat regular income stream that hopefully helps beyond beer money every so often
That my outlook on it. I bought the pro version in like 2013 for 4 or 5 bucks. Didn't give him a penny again until ultra came out and I got the monthly on that for a grand total of like $20. I can see why it may be a turn off for new users but for me it's just paying back what I already got from LJ.
Not sure if you have tried voyager yet, but it has been great for me. It's a PWA, so you can install it to your phone homescreen from the browser. All of the kinks seem to be pretty ironed out by now.
Completely ad free and monetarily free, as well.
To be fair, though, I never used sync. I used RIF for reddit, and I haven't missed it since I found Voyager.
No one says you need to, in fact you don't, but many people keep bitching like they are forced to.
Okay. I have something to complain about, too. It's people complaining too much about Sync.
I get complaining about the price, I get being a FOSS diehard, but there are are a handful of accounts that are so insanely mad about Sync and commenting/posting about it so much that they genuinely can't be mentally well.
Well I'd like to complain about people complaining about people complaining about Sync >:)
Ye, I loved Sync for Reddit, bought pro and dev even, but current Sync monetization is insane enough to alienate me.
Whatever people want to use do not concern me.
Youtube premium is $2/month in my country, sync is one time $25.. Would have to say it's kinda expensive and not buying it anytime soon.
They aren't using ads to "get people to pay" they're using ads to pay for people who don't want to pay
Yes, the ads make a little money. But it's still a problem you create then sell the solution to. It's at least half the reason to do ads.
Not really. The alternative is charging for the app in the first place, but if you do that your app fails. You include ads to help pay for development and ongoing expenses.
Offering a subscription to remove them for those that want to is secondary to that. Very few people actually subscribe to anything at all unless they absolutely have to. You'd be surprised to learn how few users actually pay to remove ads--like oftentimes less than one percent
That's not the only alternative.
Do bless me with your knowledge, then. Donations don't work. You don't want ads. You don't want subscription fees. People hate paying for apps.
There is no other option other than working for free.
Donations work. The dev clearly has many loyal fans willing to pay. Look at Jerboa/Lemmy's donation pages. It's good money.
Besides this I'm not even saying the dev shouldn't do it. I'm just explaining that I don't like it.
I gladly donate to FOSS software devs because the product never forces me to log in for a feature or get a key or see an ad. The app doesn't get any of the bloat required to do that stuff either. I just don't want to use Sync and it's not because I'm cheap
The Lemmy dev is making around 30k a year. Subtract taxes from that and he's making maybe 25k (at best).
They're very clearly extremely talented software engineers, and you're telling me $12 an hour is "good money"? That's not even above minimum wage in many US states! Do you have any idea how much software engineers make?
Doesn't have to be the only thing you do. Where do you think FOSS software comes from?
People working for free, very rarely company sponsorship, or businesses making open source software.
Which open source app do you feel is just as slick as sync? Genuine question. I'd be happy to support a FOSS app, but all that I found had weird issues and quirks, and/or janky UI. Liftoff was the best I'd found but again, buggy and janky.
I'm still just using Jerboa. It was buggy when I first used it but a few updates later it does it all fine.
It's the cost, not the idea taking people back.