Really just shows how little effort is put into making those foss tools easy to use for the layperson (NB: not implying that they should, just that they don't). Turns out people will pay to be able to use a slightly simplified version of something cool, that they would otherwise need to "figure out" a bunch of stuff to get it working.
Going from cool to usable for general public is a lot of work. And most of it isn't fun or rewarding. I get why open source doesn't do that, and why you would want money to go from solving a problem for your self to solving a problem for others in an easy way.
> Going from cool to usable for general public is a lot of work. And most of it isn't fun or rewarding.
As a frontend dev, this is my favorite part of the work! I wish there was an easy way to find open-source projects wanting UI help in particular. Is there?
Oooh! Ooh! There's a guy who just posted a tool that has a limited license UI. He said he was going to work on rolling a new one. You should reach out maybe?
I think it's the same as restaurants "hijacking" cheap ingredients and serving them up behind a paywall. Just because you think you could make a tool yourself doesn't mean it's never worth paying for, even professional chefs will pay for something pre-made and easy when they're hungry.