Of course it's extortion. That's why I highly doubt the authors much care what people say about them. It's not an experiment, or a public service. It's a clever

Of course it's extortion. That's why I highly doubt the authors much care what people say about them. It's not an experiment, or a public service. It's a clever, sociopathic way to extort a lot of money quickly, and without getting caught, at least so far. They're certainly not going to shut it down for lack of praise on Hacker News.