Charge only for extreme usage, like poorly written sync programs, maybe, maybe for realtime synchronization.
Let them access their data so they are comfortable using your product more, and charge them for the value your product gives them.
Err, what? I don't think we've read the same thread. It's shock-full of people trying to justify this kind of behaviour, presumably in a vain effort to feel less bad about their own abuses.
> seems to extend to the expectation that companies and products should exist out of the goodness of developers’ hearts.
Corporate shills and bootlickers seem to have this weird misconception that companies and products just naturally deserve to exist and impose themselves on society.
> But charging willing users for an API that costs money to maintain is “abusive”?
The API already exists.
Charging users to use an API when you don't charge them to use the website is _pretty bad_. If it's B2B, they might just suck it up and pay. But if it's B2C, don't be surprised if someone makes an "unofficial API" that's free.