I've paid for Relay Pro multiple times over the years, and was happy to do so. And if this subscription had been implemented as just a way to support Relay, I'd have subscribed in a heartbeat, because it's a fantastic app and worth every penny.
But due to all the Reddit API (and other) bullshit behind it, I just can't do it. After many, many years of happy usage, I uninstalled Relay Pro yesterday when I got the update.
As far as I'm concerned, Reddit is now only a "read-only" archive that I'll read if a search returns old information I need, and I'll read just the post/comment I need from an ad-blocking browser then move on elsewhere (ie. lemmy) when I want to participate in conversations.
I know it's highly unlikely, but if dbrady ever releases a Relay for Lemmy app, I'll pay for it.
I agree, and of course the complain is for the Reddit API, not for Relay, which is a great app, and I if they will provide a Lemmy version of Relay I may use it too.
What is non-sense in the Reddit API, is that Reddit should value users comments, the platform has value because of users interactions, posts, etc. so it totally a non-sense that user, should pay to participate on Reddit. I may just understand a free donation model, or even the personalized ads based on your interests.
I've gone as far as to block Reddit on search nowadays. It may have been of help a few years ago, but even before the API stuff it was increasingly being unhelpful.
The only things I miss are the Eurovision community (which there's a Discord for anyway, and has a Last.fm bot which makes things interesting) and Polandball (who apparently have an official YouTube channel now)