I think now is a great time to remind everyone, like sync’s developer, Lemmy’s developers need to be paid too! The amount of time all the devs put into making lemmy exist, in my opinion, should be worth some of your money. If you can afford it, donating to the people who develop lemmy and/or the people keeping your home instance up will accelerate the incredible growth of lemmy!
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Yeah. If you got 100$ to spare you should be giving it lemmy instead of sync.
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Excuse me. I’m trying to make people feel bad here.
The difference is that some users have been using sync for a decade and using Lemmy for only a month. So it’s a lot easier to mentally justify supporting a developer who you’ve been benefiting from for so long.
I have also donated to my local instance, I really hope to see it all grow together.
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Reddit has benefitted from Sync, and other 3rd party apps, way more than Sync has benefitted from Reddit.
It’s less clear cut with Lemmy, which is supposed to evolve an ecosystem of free tools, so it might be that some day Sync will be benefitting from Lemmy more than Lemmy from Sync… but for now, Lemmy is relatively bare bones, like what Reddit used to be 15 years ago, so any 3rd party app with extra features is still a good thing.
Fortunately, Lemmy has no incentive to go closed source, like Reddit did (let’s not forget Reddit used to be open source while it was convenient for them, then it wasn’t).
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Sync is $20 to remove ads no? Where is it $100?
Update: nevermind I see it here for sync ultra
The 100$ is very much a premium tier with nice to have features. The ad free version is around 20$, which is still steep but you’re paying for lifetime ads.
you’re paying for lifetime ads
You don’t need to pay for that, just go to Reddit. Free unlimited lifetime ads! 😉
Personally, I think the app is absolutely fine without paying for the subscription. I really don’t see too many ads. I get an average of one ad for every two refreshes of the feed when scrolling through, and none of them have been obtrusive. It’s certainly night and day when compared to the ads in the official Reddit app.
I’m not seeing many ads tbh. However, I’m damn sure that it’ll be ad-filled after sometime, specially since they are charging so much for the ad-free.
I mean it’s just a port of the Reddit version that was made by the same dev and had been around for over a decade (with constant updates and improvements), I don’t think enshittification is a given.
Well, compared to Reddit getting filled with “ad looking like real post”, and “ad written as a comment”, and “mass downvote everyone except the ad”… it’s really hard to stoop that low.
What is likely to keep Sync in check, are the alternative apps. Reddit got enshittified because it became the single point of failure.
I don’t think it’s a given and the dev has a proven track record.
…buuuuuutttt they did move to a much smaller userbase so I wonder how many ads he will need for sustainability.
Depends on if their business model works. If enough people are paying for premium and using the free version of the app to pay for development, there is no reason for them to increase the amount of ads. In fact, if they do show too many ads, it will likely push a lot of users to alternate apps.
The ads weren’t terrible on the free Reddit version, they’re just inline ads between posts.
There may have been a banner on some galleries but I’m not sure if that’s carried over also.
I run all my traffic through a slightly anonymizing VPN service that also blocks ads. Turns out the ads here are also blocked 🥳
Same. I have a PiHole on my home network and it blocks the ads in Sync. I still see the empty box where the ad would be though. If I am out of the house the only way I can get that ad blocking back is by connecting to my home VPN server.
In my experience, AdGuard has a more useful (free for home use) server that mirrors the pihole service. It’s more customizable, and this bit is probably the key here, and you can have different rules for different devices/network numbers
I can make different rules based on the device group with PiHole.
This is my biggest problem with it. I have no issue with Sync charging. I have an issue with Sync charging and not passing anything on to the developers of Lemmy.
I think lemmy instances should be able to charge for API acce… wait a minute
There’s nothing wrong with charging for API access if the price is reasonable. Reddit was intentionally unreasonable to kill off 3rd party traffic. In 2022, the avg reddit user brought in $0.72 USD per year. If they charged just $1/yr, they’d increase their profit!
Hell, I would even dare say, the best way to do it is to have the API be free up to a certain usage, at which point it becomes paid. Then the price scales down as you get even more and more usage.
This allows newcomers to the app space to get their footing, and punishes people trying to automate vote bots while rewarding established devs.
Yes I know, it was just pretty funny that the first comment I saw was about a paid 3rd party app not paying for access, when this was one of reddit’s “official” reasons for the changes.
Exactly, this is something I see people not talk about as much. Charging for API access is not new and actually reasonable. Handling API calls costs money after all. The issue was the intentionally ridiculous price.
If it’s a reasonable price that would be fine 🙂
a reasonable price that’s not foisted without notice? who makes such reasoned business decisions?
“because twitter did it” Spez’s stupid ass thought he should follow suit. idiot’s dumber than a bag of hammers.
Ha, touché. But the difference is that Reddit was already monetized via ads, while Lemmy is not.
Y’all just seething bc others are enjoying things. This is just cringe. This is not a zero sum game. You can donate to lemmy devs/instance devs/fav. app devs and whatever else you like too.
And let’s not pretend this is new. You could see a lot of memmy users being excited about their app too. I don’t know what the hell they are talking about. But I’m glad they have an app they like that much.
Just. Let. People. Enjoy. Things.
i dont think theres anything wrong with sync enjoyers loving their app but i have to agree that the iap money would be better spent on actually keeping instances alive
This is such a bad take. By the same logic, the time you spend scrolling through Lemmy would have been better spent serving the homeless in the soup kitchen or sweeping the streets clean. But yet here you are. Why?
Let’s face it, the “IAP money” you referred to has always been there, Sync dev found a way (and has the balls) to monetize his work to a pretty big extent. And only now are you all sour grapes about it. If Lemmy instances are so desperate for money why didn’t they make an equally big effort to monetize? On the flip side, if money isn’t such a big issue why do you care if Sync is monetizing?
Is it just me or does Sync’s pricing seem… Exorbitantly high?
It is. The Lemmy instance owners and the devs aren’t even making a dime off the platform.
That said, the decision to pay is still ultimately up to the user. If you feel it’s too pricey, then there’s Liftoff, which is a perfectly fine app in itself. Others are okay with it or even better if regional pricing is launched.
I’m currently running infinity, seems OK… There’s still a handful of features I’d like.
I am definitely not going to run Sync with adverts and I’m not paying the amount they’re asking, neither am I going to go with subscription based.
If sync halved their ad free version, I’d probably pull the trigger - failing that, I’ll eventually just hack up their client and remove the ads myself.
Instead of hacking Sync to remove the ads, why not spend the same time helping with a free app to add the features you want?
I don’t have free time to start a project like that, removing ads from an apk is trivial.
There are plenty of FOSS apps for Lemmy out there, no need to “start” any project, just lend a hand
Nah… I don’t think that’s for me 👍
Exorbitant is the right word. A subscription model for a UI enhancement app is pretty ridiculous no matter what the price. Likewise, $20 to remove ads is absurd. A much more reasonable approach would be to charge upgrade fees to pay the dev for continued development as Lemmy evolves.
By contrast Tasker, an app that provides serious Android customization & script capabilities that enable users to enhance their entire Android experience, costs just $3.50.
As a long time Sync for Reddit user I planned to buy the Sync for Lemmy app but noped on out of there when I saw the pricing.
IMO the dev is trying to quickly replace his lost Sync for Reddit revenue before the Lemmy user base has grown enough to make that possible with reasonable pricing. Good for him that many of you are willing to pay what he’s asking, but I’ll be sticking with some of the other excellent apps available right now.
Infinity for Lemmy works really well despite its early development status: https://codeberg.org/Bazsalanszky/Infinity-For-Lemmy/releases
Based on the other comments, I definitely don’t think you’re alone.
Plus dev seems deaf to the feedback.
My instance’s owner has a Patreon. I give there. I definitely recommend that others do the same.
I don’t think the Lemmy devs are getting that much either from funding. I feel like an attitude of supporting all tiers that make this place work will be necessary.
Good bloody grief! How did a reminder to support Lemmy devs and hosts get hijacked by Sync fans? Sync is a completely different topic.
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Yeah, maybe shouldn’t have mentioned sync in my post. I was just doing as a joke though.
It’s a fine segue. I’m just surprised at how many people jumped at the chance to talk about a different topic and ignore your actual message.
Thanks for the reminder, BTW. As soon as I find a permanent home, I’ll add them to the donations list.
Wait wait, what is segue ?? 😂 in my language it means “a wanking session” lmao
LOL! That’s… disturbing… in this case. Funny image, though. And perhaps appropriate given how excited Sync makes some of its users. ;>
It means a smooth transition from one thing to another. In this case, using Sync to introduce the discussion about supporting devs and instances.
Pronounced the same as Segway. link to hear it
Thanks TIL
What a peculiar coincidence…
Sync users are annoyed getting blasted with FOSS this and that. Other client users do not need to ridicule Sync fans. Or behave like houlier than thou and teach Sync users how to spend rheir money.
They are free to stay closed-source proprietary but prople have the right to voice their opinions.
That is not holier than thou.
It appears to be hijacked by FOSS fans from what I see.
All I know is I’m already sick of this anti-FOSS users narrative.
I don’t even get how someone can be anti-foss. I feel like it’s a necessity until a critical mass adopts the platform.
We must be looking at different threads, unless Sync is FOSS.
Is it true that purchases from sync for reddit don’t carry over to sync for lemmy? I don’t know how anyone could possibly justify a lifetime purchase if so.
They literally are making a new app that, sure, has a very similar look and feel but its for a completely different platform. Sure, it probably shares UI code, but I’m sure a lot of the code to pull from reddit had to be scrapped. I think they deserve to be compensated for their effort and giving any one the app just because they paid for a different app woyls not be compensarion for their efforts. They have to get paid so they can live just like you and me.
When you buy something you do not have to think whether the developer deserves it or not, especially for software where producing more copies is free. You decide whether it is worth it for you.
When you donate, you think about whether someone deserves it and who deserves your money most.
I mean, that’s a problem with a “lifetime” purchase of anything, especially software.
But as long as your expected usage over your expected period of time is cheaper than a recurring subscription for the same period of time.
The true “lifetime purchase” for software, is the GPL.
Yes, that’s correct
I don’t know how anyone could possibly justify a lifetime purchase if so.
I don’t know either. You can give your option, but be sure to let them do what they want to do
I support already on Patreon 👍
what’s the lemmy patreon? i tried searching and didn’t find anything?
that’d be a convenient way for me to kick in a few bucks a month, but i’d want to make sure the money’s going somewhere worthwhile.
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The person that runs my home instance appears to be from Ohio, I don’t think I can sanction that buffoonery. /s
I’ll kick some money towards them once I get bills for the month sorted.
Found the Michigander, unless there are other states that also like to banter toward Ohio.
/fellow Michigander
Iowa actually, Ohio banter is becoming somewhat universal I think. A different flavor of the Florida man meme.
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You don’t have to explain if you can’t! Don’t feel bad. Supporting yourself should definitely come first. Hope you are doing alright.
Like every open source projects, you can donate with money or your time. Both are equally valuable. Promoting the project, helping new users, heck, even being pleasant and help fostering positive environment in the fediverse so new users feel welcomed is actually very valuable (especially given current reputation of fediverse citizens being especially harsh to new users).
I’m disabled and on a fixed income. I make less than minimum wage. The only thing I have to contribute are my occasional keen thoughts, but if you need me to leave, I can. I get that a lot.
I won’t be buying or using Sync, as its pricing is prohibitive and ads sometimes include malware.
but if you need me to leave, I can. I get that a lot.
I don’t think OP is suggesting this. It’s simply a reminder to those who have the privilege of having extra income that contributing to the core devs improves the experience for everyone, regardless of their individual ability to contribute.
I’m personally happy to donate if it means everyone gets to continue enjoying the growth of the platform, as the real value of the threadiverse is user activity.
sometimes include malware
Source? That’s a pretty serious accusation.
None other than the FBI: https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2022/PSA221221?=8324278624
TIL that the FBI recommends using an ad blocker.
I believe the post above yours is missing a semicolon or perhaps a clarification, so it should read something like:
I won’t be buying or using Sync, as its pricing is prohibitive; and ads (in general) sometimes include malware.
While I’m all for using an ad-blocker, I don’t think you have to worry too much about Google Ads containing malware, particularly if you don’t click through.
AFAIK Google has pretty strict restrictions around the type and format of ads they will push and ad campaigns have to get approval before being activated.
So while I do strongly feel that everyone should be using an ad-blocker, I don’t think malicious ads are of particular concern coming from Google’s ad platform, on an android device.
I’m not English native and I often see Google ads in my language. Many of them are of very low quality and some ads connect to phishing links, weird apps or cover contents. I don’t think Google strictly restrict them…
Kinda reminds me of spez not wanting third-party apps.
But also reminds me capitalism rapes like Cosby.
I’d rather give to lemmy as a whole. I’d maybe spend 2-3$ one time pay for unlimited updates and use of a sm app.
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I’ll throw some money in!
