this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2023
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[–] flossdaily@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Lol! The choice is ads or a SUBSCRIPTION!?

My friend, we know other 3rd party Reddit app developers are working as fast as they can to make lemmy apps. One of them is bound to have a one-time pro version upgrade. I'll hold out for that.

LMAO ... Subscriptions. Why on earth do you think we left Reddit?!

[–] d3Xt3r@lemmy.world 88 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

I left Reddit because Spez is an asshole and he killed third-party API access (which, btw, impacted more than just clients - many useful bots/scripts died too as a result of this change).

For many of us, Sync was Reddit, and killing Sync basically killed Reddit for us, but now that Sync is back (for Lemmy), many of us are more than happy to pay a subscription to support the dev, instead of supporting Reddit. ljdawson is an awesome developer who actually listens to his users and updates his apps regularly. If you don't want to support him and/or use a different app, that's your call of course, but for fans of Sync, it's like coming back home after a long time and getting that feeling of "there's no place like home".

[–] RxBrad@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's certainly a nice app, but I've also grown attached to Connect over these last few weeks. I even donated to the dev, which is something my stingy ass never does.

While I loved Sync, I'm not paying $20/yr for any social media. If I recall, Sync Pro for Reddit was something like $5-6 lifetime. I'd pay that again without blinking an eye.

[–] donut4ever@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, this subscription for everything is getting out of hand now a days. Thankfully, we have a bunch of other solid Lemmy apps. All free and open source. You can donate to the devs here and there when you can, but I ain't paying monthly for a social media app while a ton free others exist.

[–] faintedheart@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

If you use private dns if on android then no ads in sync. I just saw this post and noticed there were no ads in my sync app. Then I remembered that I am using private dns for blocking ads. I might switch it on for supporting the dev. Because non intrusive ads are fine for a great lemmy experience. Now I am having the same experience of sync when I use reddit.

[–] donut4ever@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

It's fine that you're supporting the dev, but I didn't feel comfortable seeing the trackers are google and Amazon. I mean, I know they're everywhere in our lives, but I can't just add more spying to my life.

[–] NightOwl@lemmy.one 2 points 1 year ago

I don't see ad because I have it blocked system wide on the phone, but I've moved towards not keeping apps that show ads installed anymore. Have moved onto either foss or paid versions.

And subscription only model to remove ads is definitely not something I want to support, and the first of its kind I've encountered on Android outside of Apple.

[–] flossdaily@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I was on Reddit for 13 years, and bought the pro version every app ever made for the platform (sync, RiF, bacon reader, boost, Apollo, Joey, etc, etc.). Sync was ... fine. But in no way was it a stand out. RiF had them all beat by a mile for nearly a decade, then Joey elbowed them out in the last few years.

Anyway, I'd have been happy to buy sync Pro for lemmy, but a subscription is bonkers when there are free alternatives.

If the RIF app comes to Lemmy I will die happy.

My phone screen has burn in of the RIF refresh button lol

[–] faintedheart@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Dev has to somehow pay their bills. And for continuous support they need some kind of reward for their time and effort. Eventually other apps will be moved to subscription or they will just stop updating. These apps will still run because of ad support or subscription. Ads are actually non intrusive.

[–] cakeistheanswer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you think ads are non intrusive we have different definitions.

If any selection of the free content network I'm a part of isn't showing me the content I want it's an intrusion.

There are umpteen services that run on donations, telling yourself ads are necessary is the same deal with the devil as the public Internet.

[–] faintedheart@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Dude. There are different types of ads. Small ad banners which don't affect normal posts is not an issue for me. I am getting a good experience so this is the way I am going to pay for it.

There are umpteen services that run on donations

A lot of them when the user base has grown, wasn't sustainable and also got closed down and moved to subscription.

If any selection of the free content network I'm a part of isn't showing me the content I want it's an intrusion.

You can pay for subscription or use another app. It's fine. Other devolopers who don't charge a single bit now will change it in the future. Who is mad to support an app without getting any kind of benefit. There are some open-source developers who do that. Still.

I'm here on the fediverse because ads are poison.

Knowing my neighbors are swigging more of that shit doesn't make me feel any better.

[–] rndll@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

When I accidentally tapped on the first ad and it automatically opened a shopping app I had on to a product I have no care for. Personally for me, the ads ARE intrusive. I instantly uninstalled after that.

[–] ILikeMultis@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago

Joey ❀️

[–] moitoi@feddit.de -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The issue people have with Sync is the model going against the philosophy of Lemmy and the fediverse.

People aren't mad at paying for the app if it was a one time payment.

[–] ljdawson@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Yup and I added the option

[–] rikudou@lemmings.world -4 points 1 year ago

who actually listens to his users

Support of non-Google-Play version is where? I personally asked about it multiple times and I've seen many other people ask as well.

[–] keeeener@lemm.ee 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

there will be a separate in app purchase structure

the ultra subscription was a separate sub model from sync for reddit that was on the side to help support the 1 developer who works on the app if you want to. the model was already there and nothing has changed from reddit, so it was probably easy to leave the code in with the same features and keep it in.

you also need to realize this is a beta as well so it's not "officially" released yet. if sync for reddit is anything to go by, once LJ is content on the app it will be released in full, with additional pro / dev variants to come. but since those are considered separate apps, those won't come until later since they need to be reviewed and put on the app store... which makes sense there's only 1 variant at this time

edit: pro model won't happen due to Google play store policies on duplicate apps. one time in app purchase is coming

[–] Toribor@corndog.social 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Sounds like pro will not be a separate app and will only be unlocked with an in-app purchase due to Google Play policies around 'duplicate' apps.

[–] keeeener@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

even better then!

[–] thimantha@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Chill, mate, it's open-beta. Sync Ultra was a thing on Sync for Reddit as well, which comes with features that need constant cash such as server maintenance etc. IAP for ad removal will come soon.

[–] Boterham@feddit.de 9 points 1 year ago

I left reddit because of asshole decisions. I think 18 Euro per year is pretty fair for an app you probably use every day. I prefer one time payment over subscription, too. But the price for sync is nothing to rant about imo.

[–] SplicedWren@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 year ago

Beta update released within the last hour adds the option for lifetime ad removal.

[–] NightOwl@lemmy.one 5 points 1 year ago

I'm not addicted to any social media enough to pay for a subscription. And I'm sick of subscriptions in general. I'm fine with liftoff.

[–] dub@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I disagree. I think there's a lot of people living in a fantasy. Things cost money. You can't rely on good will to pay for developers, engineers, and hardware.

Maybe ads aren't the way to go but you're not being realistic if you want this place to grow without some kind of funding.

[–] Alivrah@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Voyager is the way to go. It doesn't even feel like it's "just" a WebApp.

[–] faintedheart@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I respect your opinion. For me it was super clunky. I tried every app for lemmy. The best one is sync for now. If there is a proper competition it will be boost for lemmy.

[–] Alivrah@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

I'm back after testing Sync for a few minutes and... You're absolutely right and I think Sync is winning me over!

[–] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 year ago

I mean it's nice, but it's also super clunky

[–] donut4ever@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Voyager is amazing. I'm now battling between it and thunder. I've been using Voyager a lot more than thunder.

[–] Alivrah@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I haven't checked out Thunder yet! I'm amazed at how fast apps for Lemmy started showing up after the whole Reddit API fiasco!

[–] donut4ever@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Thunder is a very good app. I've been testing it on both Android and iOS. It's been solid. Still missing a thing or two and has some issues, but it is really nice. I do like voyager a lot, too

[–] Laticauda@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

None of the other lemmy apps I've used have quite felt right, though I think voyager was the best of the ones I tried in terms of ease of use. I really liked sync for reddit, so I'm hoping I'll like the lemmy version too. I generally try to avoid subscriptions, but if I like the app and they offer a one time payment to be ad free at some point then I'm fine with that. Tbh so far I haven't actually seen any ads though so if they're not obtrusive then they won't bother me. Devs gotta put food on the table somehow.

[–] Alivrah@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just started testing it out and I gotta say, Sync for Lemmy is absolutely beautiful!

I'd buy it in a heartbeat if it offered a one time option!

[–] ljdawson@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

It's available as a one time purchase now