I admit I don't quite get what is supposed to appear as the point of it.

But it seems like an example of a subscription service where a few people caving and using it make things worse for everybody.

Verification as a concept definitely makes sense. I can even imagine a one-time fee for it, as there may be some associated costs. Fair.

But once you start charging a subscription fee, it absolutely stops being a service for the good of the community, and starts just being a thing you want to sell as much as possible. Meaning the standards for verification drop, possibly to zero (like on Twitter), and the whole system loses any actual meaning. But people who do have a need for verification will need to keep paying too, just for appearance.

I think it's a lesson/example in why subscriptions suck, and why is it generally a good idea to discourage people from signing up to subscriptions like this. Even if it's "just a couple bucks". Eventually you'll just be paying for a pointless, if not an actively hostile system.

Gee, just charge for dark mode like Snapchat, or non-ugly icons like Reddit. Just don't mess up something essential people rely on?