There are people expressing interest in using AT to make versions of other popular services (like TikTok, Instagram, etc) but would they face similar costs to run a relay

Most non-Bluesky App Views I know about (WhiteWind, frontpage.fyi, BookHive) just use BlueSky's.

I fail to see the point when we already have everything chugging along here on AP - with an investment of a fraction of that money we could make on-boarding slicker and help iron out other niggles that occur when you are developing on a shoestring.

You're failing to consider how this would benefit the shareholders! My portfolio line must go up!