I mean, with that logic you might as well argue that this whole community is pointless because no one is forced to use any of the products or services that use an asshole design, free or not.
The purpose of this community, as I see it, is to point out anti-consumer practices used in existing products and services. While it could be intended to get the attention of someone who can change it, realistically it’s an asshole design because they likely knew it wouldn’t be well-liked from the start.
The purpose of this community as I see it is:
To vent or discuss anti-features.
To warn potential or current users that they might prefer to avoid the service or product.
To warn naive designers that it’s not a feature without controversy, if they are inclined to think, “oh, these other guys do this so no one will care if I also do it”.
Walmart isn’t obligated to offer wifi, but sometimes you can have a shit deal even when the price is 0.