I'm not sure there's any definite way to erode trust these days, since the most polished and believable sites can (and often do) completely betray the trust they instill or profess to uphold.
Perhaps the creator is truly tired of the BS and guesses that there's an audience who also is. And for $5/yr, it costs virtually nothing to try.
The bigger question is about limits of what can be posted, policing of content, and privacy.
The fact that it's so cheap makes it feel even sketchier, like who am I giving my credit card to if they are making it that cheap and easy to do; is it a trick to get my CC? They don't care how little I give, because the $5 isn't their target, it's something else.
As a developer I know you can build stuff that actually is that cheap, but still, makes some alarm bell go off. Maybe if the site was worded differently, it wouldn't push things over the edge and I would "just try it".
Also, I think if you want just $5 a year, why even ask for anything, unless you justify why it's so cheap and how it will just be enough to cover x costs or something.
Perhaps the creator is truly tired of the BS and guesses that there's an audience who also is. And for $5/yr, it costs virtually nothing to try.
The bigger question is about limits of what can be posted, policing of content, and privacy.