I need some intellectual honesty before reply: otherwise it feels much more like feeding trolls.
When you "pay to unlock steam": you're giving 3.5$ (Itch is no bound to this rule: it can give 4$ or even 4.99$) to indie developer who, otherwise, wouldn't ever see a ¢ from that person.
Once this is concerned, I'll reply to other arguments too.
You don't seem to understand what 'intellectual honesty' means as you lack either attribute. You fail to understand how to conduct discourse and resort to calling people 'trolls' to avoid a discussion that you cannot fathom.
There's absolutely zero reason to spend any of the $5 USD that Steam charges for a 'paid account'. If money is to be spent, there is no minimum or maximum value imposed that Steam requires (to my knowledge). Presuming that money spent on Steam goes to indie devs is quite presumptuous and often incorrect. Most of the money spent on Steam tends to go towards well-known games that are well-marketed and have good word of mouth. Those that don't have these things tend to be ones that are refunded.
Why pay money for an unknown game when someone can just buy a game they know they'll love? Indie devs need to learn how to Marketing 101 (or hire someone to do it for them) if they want to stand out from the pile of games.
