Sync for Lemmy

Those apps catching on early is the reason Lemmy is what it is right now.

No, Reddit killing third-party apps and belittling mod teams is the reason Lemmy is what is is now, just like Digg killing off useful features and letting power users run amok on the front page is the reason Reddit is what it is right now.

Lemmy's existed for years. There've been apps for Lemmy. It wasn't until a Reddit exodus that Lemmy grew beyond a few thousand users. If it weren't for Spez going full Elon-mode, you and I likely wouldn't be here at all. We're not here because there was a good app for Lemmy a month ago, we're here because Reddit became a hostile environment to us.

But to suggest that paid software is better than FOSS because the developers are paid to do it, is again, fucking ridiculous. And equally annoying.

I wasn't suggesting that paid apps are inherently better. Just that FOSS apps are often worse. They lag behind their mainstream counterparts in terms of features, support, and design. And while things like design may not matter to some, it really does matter to most users. Look at any of the top apps in the F Droid store right now, and look at the screenshots. Nearly every app on that story is ugly as sin, and looks like it was developed for Android 2.0. That's an immediate turn-off for most users.

Ask yourself, how many of those apps would you recommend to your parents? Say your folks want an app to manage their budget, can you find a FOSS budgeting app to recommend to them that isn't just unformatted tables of text? Literally every result for "budget" in F Droid is an app that looks like a spreadsheet, does nothing automatically on its own (like syncing your bank records), and requires the user to input every single transaction. They're no better than just using a steno pad and a 4-function calculator, so why would your parents choose that over something like Mint? How do you convince them to use something like OpenMoneyBox over something like Rocket Money?

Being a paid app doesn't necessarily make it better, but historically speaking, apps that produce a revenue stream for the developer generally have more active and long-lasting support in the long run, because they're being built by somebody whose livelihood literally depends on keeping a functional, user-friendly app up and running. Many FOSS apps are developed by hobbyists who don't have the incentive to stay active on the development side, which doesn't instill faith in the average user. Why would I invest my time and energy into a FOSS app that may go defunct in a year or two, when I can just install an app that does the same thing, looks nicer, does more, is easier to use, and has the backing of a company that is likely going to stick around for a while?

FOSS is great, but it's not the solution for everything. Some use-cases simply require an app/platform that has the backing of more resources behind it in order to function and provide a positive UX. It's super important to remember that people like you and me, who are a bit more tech-savvy, are a stark minority of the general population. The average user doesn't care about FOSS, or data security, or privacy; they care about the UX, which almost always takes a backseat in most FOSS projects. Things like the design, ease of use, and compatibility with their existing ecosystem are more important to the average user. And if you want Lemmy to be successful in the long term, you need to cater to the average user. Hence, Sync.

It's not about paying to not see ads. Anyone with an adblocker could understand that much. The point is to support an app you personally like, and appreciating what comes with an app that has an income stream.
Part of that comes with understanding that all things come at a cost. Like many have said above, FOSS comes at the expense of the time and money of the developers of the app themselves, and some of that cost is passed down to the consumer (anyone who uses FOSS without contributing to development is a consumer in the end, after all).
The consumer has to bear the cost of slower, more infrequent updates that are entirely dictated by the developers schedule and whim, with less focus or effort put into the design or other features. And honestly, if a consumer can't tolerate that, that's totally fine, that's what dedicated teams and people who do these things for a job are for.
If you're one of those people who doesn't mind slower, less intuitive, or buggier software, then go ahead. But until you can actually prove that a FOSS offers better services than a marketable service, people are really just going to dismiss you as someone who can't think for themselves.