So the thing is complicated, on both sides.
Readers - most of them are entitled here in WN. They complain when they are charged for a service someone (writer) has to spend their time (a considerable amount of it btw) in order to offer it. WebNovel is a business and many authors look to profit. Face it, free stuff is something to be grateful about, not something to expect.
However, it is also fair for readers to expect a quality product when they pay for it. And let's face it, most novels here suck quality-wise, big time. This applies for a couple of the contracted novels. Yet it is clear this doesn't stop people from reading them, because their expectations have been considerably lowered over time (after all, very few complained when they were receiving machine translated stuff for free). The thing is, they are now paying for it, so their expectations will also rise over time. When that time comes, WN will have to step up their game, and so will authors.
On the other hand, people forget that many fan translation projects, while free, are still using intellectual property that doesn't belong to them. The fact that they don't charge for their service doesn't make it right. Legally speaking, the fact that many "free" sites have ads in itself is an issue that could get them into trouble if only they were worth chasing after.
That being said, WN should also cut their bullshit
The demands behind the curtains are outrageous. Contracted authors are being asked to write way above what their contracts state, while WN holds back on the services they promised. The preferential treatment being given to a particular novel is surprising, to say the least. There are many contracted authors, yet the focus has been placed only on one of them. Whether this is an intentional move to create some kind of banner to original novels or something done out of inner-circle relationships, I don't know. However, the fact remains that only this novel has received promotions, whilst the rest of the contracted authors have been kicked aside (while they still get the same, unreasonable demands).
400$ monthly is a joke to anyone outside of rural China, the Philippines or any 3rd world country. But oh, here's the thing... will original authors even make 400$ after their grace period is over? We could chuck the blame to them and how they could do things to boost their own numbers (write more for example), but the truth is that WN as a platform is not friendly to writers, it promotes a toxic writing culture. People are encouraged to release frequently, for all exposure is conditioned under release-rates. Think about it: Daily releases, recent releases, feature novels - all of them require the writer to release as often as possible. What is chapter length? Can I eat it?
So a toxic competition encouraged towards authors - check.
Toxic community expectations - check.
Evil corporation maneuvers - check.
What other options are there? Where is the holy grail then? Where can I go as an author then that doesn't breed this situation?
To be honest, everyone has a different option. Mine was Amazon. While Qi defends 400$ as a great income, I know at least 5 former WN writers who've made at least 10 times that while having to deal with none of Qi's unreasonable conditions.
That being said, CKtalon , Qi must be right in their frontpage post,
Writers that write here indeed do so for love of their readers.