Subscription models only make sense for an app/service that have recurring costs. In the case of Lemmy apps, the instances are the ones with recurring hosting costs, not the apps.
If an app doesn’t have recurring hosting costs, it only makes sense to have one up front payment and then maybe in app purchases to pay for new features going forward
Not the best take. The apps still need to continue to be developed, adding new features and improvements along the way. That’s the cost of development. Not everything is just the cost of infrastructure. By that logic, McDonald’s workers shouldn’t be paid because it’s not their buns and patties, etc.