Yes payments may be hard for people to make, but it is very important part of granting access if a user wishes to onboard quickly, in addition, with a hybrid relay that also allows in any source from a Web of Access (a nip05 whitelist, a score calculation, a payment), any of which can be used so there are options. It is not just a blanked, you must pay. The spam must be deterred somehow. So if a user is willing to spend the time to build their reputation in the spam ridden world of everything is free, eventually they will make it in without having to pay if they have garnered enough of a score. Or use the zaps from the engagement they've gotten to level up quicker.

There are many options, but ignoring payments as an option and trumpeting that it's bad for new users, is naive and will end up hurting us in the end. We will be exactly like any other social platform and even more full of spam because all the other platforms also charge now and are still full of spam.