Quite an asshole way of phrasing "it is a subscription" with very small letters. At least it's a dark pattern.
On top of that, you also get 1 year of free updates, and you get to keep using those new versions forever as well.
How is this a subscription?
Why should the developer work forever for you on a meager $25 payment?
Software is not a "good". If you bought "go ide" a year+ ago and your updates ran out, you can throw it away now.
> On top of that, you also get 1 year of free updates
They are not free, you subscribed to them by paying the subscription. What is free is the copy of the software after your subscription ends.
> How is this a subscription?
It's a subscription because the product you buy is supported for one year.
> Why should the developer work forever for you on a meager $25 payment?
This is irrelevant to the topic at hand.
FWIW, I think it's a good model, for both user and the developer, but I would not try to pretend it's not a subscription with a big bold text. Just avoid the word and all is good.
I don't have a problem with the model, I have a problem with LIES.
Even with this model, I'm already looking for jobs, because I don't get enough money for the 14-hour days I have to put in to keep up with hardware changes.
An editor is far easier to keep using after the 1-year period has ended, especially if it has support for plugins which should update for free.