I think @BlockchainB nailed it in this comment (#1197521): paying to post is actually one of the best parts of SN.

It's great that territory owners can set their own fees -- that way we get a mixture and we can tell where optimal fee levels end up (and also, we maybe find that there are multiple optimal levels).

Paying to post is the one thing that SN has that is not found anywhere else on the internet (that I know of). It's truly unique and useful: it makes people put their money where their mouth is.

I've been attempting some in-person on-boarding lately and I've been discovering that lightning is a major obstacle for many potential new users. It's kind of wild, but there are lots of bitcoiners who don't use lightning or if they do, use something like Strike.

People have to be either 1) very familiar with lightning or 2) highly motivated to join SN in order to overcome the friction of using SN.