* The website to be free
* The API to be cheap
* The ability to use a 3rd party app that does not track, advertise, or monetize you in any way
* VCs to continue to pour hundreds of millions of dollars to run the site and never ask for an ROI
Good luck kids
If you do ask for a few dollars a month you have to provide a ton of perceived value. That's despite the fact that they would spend it on snacks without hesitation.
But at the end of the day the I am sure that for a large portion of people complaining they spent the majority of their video watching time watching YouTube. If it's not worth it to you to pay the equivalent of a big mac meal month to get rid of ads that's fine but don't act all morally superior to those that do.