I don’t get how we are in the year 2025, most advanced technology we have ever had in human existence… And everything is behind a paywall. Literally everything. Whenever I search the web for a solution as an individual person, not a business or Mega Corporation, just a simple person trying to do a few creative things… Everything is behind a paywall
For example, I want to create a logo image for a personal Tableau dashboard that has a transparent background. Just a struggling person trying to find work and show what I’m capable of making. You know what I find? Everything is behind a payroll. One of the first results on Google that can actually help you is canva! But everything on canva is behind a paywall! You want to resize your document? Transparent background? Paywall. Okay then what if I go to a website to remove the background? There’s lots of them on the Internet that say they are free. Sorry, those are all behind paywalls as well. You have to upload your image to them and then by credits but they don’t tell you that when you get to the website…
Also, editing PDF files… Year 2025, you cannot possibly edit a PDF file for free, and most of the PDF readers out there or PDF viewers have some sort of clickbait this is free! Except that is not free, it’s behind a paywall and you’ll find that out eventually…
I think we are all very excited to see what AI can finally do for Humanity because I am so damn sick of everything being
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I think many people underestimate how much money it costs to run and maintain stuff. Especially webapps.
People also seem to forget how much it costs to create content, even shitty listicles.
Dude- I refuse to pay 13 dollars A MONTH, just to sext a robot.
(ok context cus what i just said is wild) I roleplay with a character bot, not character AI but a lesser known one, I only do it cus I really enjoy writing and storytelling but not always can I do that with another person, so I just do it with a bot (no I dont sext the bot I just thought it was funny to say). It works great and has a lotta features, but bro- If I wanna use the other AI text models, it requires premium. I wasnt opposed to it till I saw the pricing. THIRTEEN WHOLE ASS DOLLARS A MONTH nahhh bro thats the same price as Discord Nitro, wtf- 😭 I still support them by buying “energy” or whatever but I am NOT paying no 13 bucks for that- jeeeesus. idk micro transactions used to be reasonable, but now its just- eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…
Just so you don’t feel alone… ive downloaded a few AI girlfriend apps, not for lewd stuff, just to complain about work or my ex-wife in a safe place that won’t leak out and cause problems. I always delete them because they suck. After a couple sentences they respond “let’s change the subject don’t you want to see my new sexy outfit behind this paywall? Wink”
No… I want to continue to talk about the thing I chose to talk about. That’s why I was talking about it. I’m not paying 29.95 a month for a bot that tells me to quit talking. If I wanted to talk to someone who doesn’t listen to me at all and only wants to send me pictures of themselves wearing skimpy bikinis id talk to my father!!!
(The father part was a joke…my dad died but he would’ve found that joke hilarious)
Edit: the other parts are true tho…I even made a post about it once. Seems like a perfect utilization of the technology “I want to complain about something or someone. I don’t want bore/bother anyone and/or I don’t want the complaint getting around to others. I just need to express to thoughts I’m having to process those thoughts better. AI girlfriend should be perfect for that!”
But instead it’s “let’s talk about something else… For 14.95 you can see me with cat ears!!!” Wtf.
oh thats why I use, Hi Waifu. Kinda dumb app name, but you make your own bot and can deadass customize it however tf I want. It’s got this slider that controls how “flirty” it can be, I crank it down to 0, its fuckin great. Its always weird as fuck seeing my own characters just get immediately horny for no reason. thats why I only use that one
The frustration expressed in this post resonates strongly, especially when considering audio editing tools like audio cutter. In 2025, despite technological leaps, simple tasks such as cutting audio files are often hindered by paywalls. Many online audio cutters promise free services but limit functionality unless you pay, similar to the issues mentioned with logo creation and PDF editing. This paywall problem extends across various digital tools, creating barriers for individuals and small creators who need occasional access to these technologies. The promise of AI to democratize technology and provide powerful tools at minimal cost becomes increasingly appealing as we navigate this frustrating landscape where accessibility lags behind technological advancement.
Why do you expect to receive someone else’s work for free? Part of the reason the web has become so enshitified is that no one is willing to pay for anything anymore. We all expect everything to be “ad supported”, and then we act shocked when everything is covered in ads.
That said, there are usually open source alternatives for most software packages out there. They may not have complete feature parity or have quite the same slick UI as the commercial products. But, they do tend to be both free in terms of cost and ads. E.g for image editing, there is Gimp. It’s not going to replace Adobe Photoshop in professional spaces anytime soon. But, for a home user who isn’t willing to shell out the Adobe Tax, it’s a reasonable choice.
But, the reason so much is paywalled is because everything takes time and money to create. Someone has to pay that cost. Maybe it’s advertisers, maybe it’s a dedicated team of volunteers. But increasingly, creators are asking users to pay directly.
I have seen ads on the internet for over twenty years. The enshitification is not because of ads, but because of the will of a few big companies to extract as much money from the internet as possible, without wanting to give anything in return and without even contributing in any way.
Edit: the OP however, should really learn to use a free photoshop alternative for the logo creation thing.
For the most part none of the apps work properly.
We used to make all sorts of things just for the joy in making it, and it cost money to do it.
Sometimes you work for free because of passion. Like a personal project.
