Regardless of the reason, if Electron was using private APIs, and Apple doesn't allow Apps that use private APIs in the Mac App Store, I'm glad Electron isn't being given a free pass just because it's popular.
If this was iOS, where sideloading is basically impossible, I'd be much more sympathetic to the author's view. But we're talking about the Mac. Apple's quality control is the reason for users to choose the Mac App Store. Any users who don't want that control can easily go elsewhere.
Actually not. The appeal of the app store to users and developers alike, are access to already set-up Apple ID for auth and payment, and access to dependent APIs, like contacts
Non-AppStore Mac apps can use the contacts API, I'm not sure what you're referring to.
The ability to use an Apple ID for payment probably adds a bit of convenience for some people, but we have Apple Pay on the web, not to mention Stripe and Paypal. It really doesn't add all that much friction.
If this was iOS, where sideloading is basically impossible, I'd be much more sympathetic to the author's view. But we're talking about the Mac. Apple's quality control is the reason for users to choose the Mac App Store. Any users who don't want that control can easily go elsewhere.