Your comment is not factual. It's a cynical opinion.
Does Marco hope that this will make you feel good about him and his app? That seems likely. Does he also want to support independent developers? That seems likely too.
Not everything can be simply boiled down to 'persuasive tactics'.
You say my comment is not factual, only then you describe his motivations being precisely what I described (rather than "ballsy and classy"). Not sure if you're being ironic or just shockingly naive.
The facts, gress, are persuasive techniques, not Marco's intentions which neither of us can measure. I made this abundantly clear in my OP, however the desperate, sad dogpile of waylaid Arment defenders ("OMG! HE SAID THAT ARMENT IS LITERALY COMCAST!") made that a little too difficult for some of you to read.
There is nothing dishonest in my edits. I have clarified my point (which has remained exactly the same, regardless of your comprehension issues) without providing yet another post for Arment cheerleaders to pummel down in their confusion about what is being discussed. Hacker News is not conducive to conversations when a side (even when "a side" is as bizarre and perplexing as "refutes basic persuasion techniques") is passionate, as evidenced by the fact that the same boorish people feel some perverse need to arrow up/arrow down through an entire already-transparent conversation, force-multiplying their input. It is HN's greatest weakness.
I'm stating an opinion. Not facts. You seem to claim some kind of higher authority, and I'm calling you out for that.
[edit: I see that rather than replying, you have dishonestly edited your comment to distort your position and make this followup look out of place. I guess this is not a conversation.]
Does Marco hope that this will make you feel good about him and his app? That seems likely. Does he also want to support independent developers? That seems likely too.
Not everything can be simply boiled down to 'persuasive tactics'.