I had zero input in the whole process. I wasn't given an explanation about anything. I couldn't set the fee rates, and I didn't get a warning about the cost. I wasn't able to pick a channel partner, so I have no idea who they are, what they do, how they operate etc. I don't know what "balancing the channel" entails and I can't find an obvious way to look into that from Alby Hub.

All that would be general things. In my particular case, the unexpected 18k sat hit would have been a deal breaker if I had known in advance, because my only LN sats are the ones I get from Nostr zaps, so a cost of 18k has basically eaten up a big chunk of what I had and, ironically, that is going to make me use LN less now, since I have very little money to pay for stuff.