I've also always enjoyed Jess's honesty and that YouTube is her hobby rather than something to make money from. I think there are two issues that will affect her views this year, the Go Fund Me and her disappearance for almost a year. I genuinely don't think that her disappearance was as calculating as setting up a go fund me with the intention of not uploading ever again. If her mental health wasn't great (which was obvious from last years vlogs) then taking a break was absolutely the right thing to do.
For those who contributed, the breast reduction wasn't a transactional thing of 'if you donate then I'll upload X many videos'. Maybe people were frustrated when she stopped uploading 6 months after the surgery, which is fine, but their expectations aren't Jess's responsibility. I can understand why some viewers might be annoyed and even a small update on the Community tab would have probably gone a long way, just a simple 'I'm working on my mental health, I'm not ready to upload but please don't worry about me and thank you for your patience' or something. If someone needs a break then they should be able to do that.
She's opened herself up to a lot of scrutiny with regards to spending and their finances and spending decisions, which maybe she wasn't expecting. People's financial situations change all the time, maybe Neil had a promotion or a pay rise, but clearly they've been able to make some bigger purchases than they would have done in previous years. It's understandable that people are raising their eyebrows when someone buys a caravan just a few months after saying they don't have enough money to pay for their surgery. Maybe they paid a small deposit and it's on finance or something but we'll never know.
I don't have high hopes for vlogmas this year because her heart doesn't seem to be in it at all and she seems reluctant to be on YouTube at all.