1st- You agreed to help-- it's a "donation"... meaning if you weren't comfortable donating, stop. Simple. Anyone that keeps up with the Discord had the right --at any time-- to cancel their membership and ride free if they are IN ANY WAY uncomfortable with how the money they gave away is being spent, just like anyone that didn't, or felt they were being kept in the dark.
2nd- Make no mistake: you are NOT paying for a product. You're donating -aka giving away- money to a developer. It's right there in the TOS for Patreon, Subscribestar, and any number of platforms like it. It isn't a bill. It's not a charge. It's a donation. You can even get it back through the right processes on Patreon. Stop acting like they're robbing anyone, or even conning them, because they didn't force anyone into membership. You're calling them grifters because they aren't doing things according to YOUR business model? That's ballsy. Nobody got here at gunpoint, and nobody is getting scammed. You can download it free--> if you like it, you can check out the Patreon/SS--> if you feel like it, you can donate--> if you don't, you still get it for free--> if you're not happy with how it's going, you can cancel.
3rd- There is nothing misleading, here... his progress reports here are not hidden. Anyone can see how long it's taking, and if they want more info, the Discord is there to help. Quit whining, put away your self-righteous indignation, and move on, if you are an adult that isn't satisfied.
P.S. putting anyone's finances on blast in a public forum is in poor taste-- a bullying tactic-- don't come here claiming you meant to do anything but harm those finances by chasing away supporters, present and future. Anyone curious can look, yes, but it is also possible to hide those numbers, and I would imagine Komi left them public for transparency-- rather a poor tactic for someone looking to hide something, yeah?
Low-class cheap shot.