I occasionally use this software through Debian's package for it, which of course doesn't contain the adware. But the strategy employed here does leave me with a bit of a sour taste and a desire to stop using the software altogether.
People still say Linux DEs aren't user friendly but IMO they're much more so than other OSes largely because other OSes have a moat to protect.
this is the result of parasitic capitalism. i have no doubts that a dev who contributed so strongly to the opensource ecosystem for such a long time specifically wants to be in this situation. you wouldn't, i don't, they probably don't.
how else are we supposed to support our families and the community? there's no other source of revenue or support for a freelance programmer in caretaker mode for a mature and stable codebase. donations don't cut it, obviously.
Nobody has to write software that abuses its users with freakin' adware, proprietary or open source — and any creator who does so should be shunned. All the more so if they simultaneously abuse us and invite open source collaboration. This isn't starving people being driven to steal food.