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this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2023
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So… what’s the issue with Sync?
It isn't open source. To be honest, it isn't that much of a deal is it. Because the dev isn't a megacorp so I don't think he would steal our data.
Wouldn't the fact of it being closed source and made by a for profit developer lead to it being better?
Not at all. Being open source allows the community of users and other developers to suggest improvements to the code base.
And you can still sell an app that is open source.
No it doesn't. There have beem tons of foss apps better than paid apps, and also the other way around. It doesn't mean anything regarding the quality of the project.
As a user, the only thing you can be sure about, is that if the developer of a closed app gets hit by a bus, a stranger can't just pick up the development. Other than that nothing is certain.
Sure, but it's just a Lemmy client. If the Sync dev gets hit by a bus, I'll just download a different client, plug my creds into that and be back to shitposting in a minute or two. All the important data is on the server.
Yea, fortunately it's not a case of someone monopolising the market.
Or he doesn't want his work stolen???
You can release your source code without making it freely available for people to use. Not every open source app is GPL licensed.
then why did the Paint.NET developer go from Open to closed?
You'd have to ask the developer, but it seems like they did not understand the license they released it under. They complained of people "plagiarizing" their source code after releasing it under the MIT license, which allows people to take the source and use it however they want.
Being open source doesn't mean it'll get stolen lol. People can copy the code, but unless they add anything significant, everyone will keep using the most famous one. Plus there are several licenses which can add restrictions regarding 'look, contribute, but don't copy without permission' Vulnerabilities would be discovered much quickly, and people will even contribute to it. He'll still have the right to sell his app on the Play Store... or keep a premium type plan like he already has.
I think for one person and one person only, the premium option is the way to go, but that's just my opinion.
Commoditization by adding ads in a natively ad-free and libre service, and also questionable pricing:
This pricing increased 10 times in comparison to pre-API shit Sync for Reddit, so the community is now divided on whether the developer spreads the costs over fewer potential users on Lemmy vs. Reddit or is just being greedy and trying to monetize the new service as quick as possible before it potentially dies off.
I won't pretend to be an expert on ad revenue. But couldn't one explanation for the Sync for Reddit vs. Lemmy pricing be that reddit had far more users, translating to more ad revenue from the free version, allowing the developer to justify a cheaper price for the paid version?
As far as the $20 for ad removal goes, I haven't seen any compelling arguments that it doesnt remove trackers. Ive seen several people posting proof that it does remove trackers, along with the tool and method they used to check. As for the subscription service, it includes a lot of really nice features beyond removing ads; I think its aimed at enthusiasts and power users.
I find the idea that ljdawson is just trying to capitalize on a trend in order to make a quick buck to be ridiculous. The app is already too polished for that. Sync already offers a far better experience than any alternatives IMO, and its still only in beta.
I don't get the downvotes. I listed facts, showed rationale of the two sides of the argument and never favoured one of them (at least not in this comment). I'm only a proxy, haven't stated my opinion, just informed what's the conflict about. You guys can't get angry at facts. I see Lemmy is going full reddit. Don't shoot the messenger.
Lots of basic Reddit users are here now.
We don't know if Lemmy is going to last. Why spend time and effort making an app for it to just die. LJ (the dev) needs to eat, and since lemmy isn't popular compared to reddit, jacking up the price seems necessary.
I don't think LJ is being greedy. Again, he needs to eat. It's a niche community, and a niche community will most always be more expensive than other things.
The pricing isn't up 10x. The lifetime ultra isn't 100 USD. It is expensive to many and I won't dispute that.
I'll make an alternate argument. If people can afford sync, I'm hoping they can afford to support lemmy and/or servers. And if that's the case, what's the beef?
Okay, fair, I rounded up. Ad removal is 4x ($5 to $20) and Ultra is 2x to 5x depending on the tier.
Right; for me it's 124.78 USD converted.
Well yeah LJ is free to charge $10k for all we care, it's his right. The problem is he's acting contrary to the idea of the libre community and seems to forget what drove people away from Reddit. I have no data to back this up, but given the response on the official Sync community, he could very well double the amount of paying customers by halving the prices.
I do support Lemmy developers and my home instance on Liberapay and loved Sync back in the reddit days but I still have doubts about making this sort of purchase right now
What drove me away from reddit is when they killed Sync.
I loved the old app, I still love the new app, it's a pleasure to use compared to the alternatives I've tried, and I find the ultra subscription rate both reasonable and worthwhile to support a product I truly enjoy.
Sync is good for me. There's plenty of other options if it's not good for you.
$99 for ultra lifetime, not $120
Converted to what currency? Converted to the Iranian Rial would be 4.34m IRR. That doesn't mean the dev is asking for $4.34m for ultra lifetime.
converted to USD.
There's a paywall for addless use and they sell your data. It's understandable that people would dislike it on Lemmy.
If people like it as is, that's fine. But shoving ads into a Lemmy app is definitely a dealbreaker for me.
I've tried and doesn't seem that bad. Sure the fact it has some privacy pop-up looks a bit fishy, but that might be due to the ads.
Yeah honestly it doesn't bother me past the fact that I won't use it. People can use whatever they want.