[artlung]100% services that are good ought to be paid for, and if you can't recommend it you can't recommend it. but also gifting accounts are a nice option for some services. and payment plans on an annual basis can mitigate things. and some services provide lifetime or other models.
[artlung]I recommended http://micro.blog and a few other services to my brother in law just a few weeks ago. he's been traveling but I hope he kicks the tires on services and finds a match.
.pi.r2.@doesm I think just the annualized cost of the hardware? $60/yr would be equivalent $300 every 5 years, most people spend more on their smartphone purchases
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jak2kYes, people are paying a lot more for their phones. But the competition (Instagram, X, Bluesky, Mastodon, Bearblog, Wordpress.com) are all free in their simplest plan. I cannot tell my friends to pay for a social media without people they know. They don't even want to use Mastodon, which is free!
perryflynnI am part of a group which is unable to use a online forum. on a regular basis I have to exmplain how threads/answers working and I have to reset passwords.
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[artlung]_"I cannot tell my friends to pay for a social media without people they know."_ ~ no of course not. We must always make recommendations we consider reasonable. But expecting every internet service to have a free tier is unreasonable. If it were a civic (read: government) entity or non-profit entity a free tier can be part of their mission. But free services are monetizing somehow. And Instagram, X, the first 2 you cite despite having those
[social]I’ve been thinking of 88x31 badges and the intersection of travel stickers and laptop stickers (a magazine I have had a Rimowa ad with travel stickers).