Yeah, just seeing that it will collect data about me for personalized ads was a turnoff. There are plenty of Lemmy clients without ads. I can't imagine seeing ads while using Lemmy, either.
I'm not advocating for anyone to buy a price they're not comfortable with, but personally I reasoned that, having used Sync for nearly 10 years, it would be like paying 10 bucks for each of those years for an app that I have used the most out of all the apps in my life
Sync was a huge part of my life (will continue to be), and I am happy to compensate for that.
Or you use discord and direct engagement with users to cultivate a fanclub around yourself, and set them lose to brigade everywhere and defend literally every single decision. Then they'll cheer you as you become the villain