I assumed from the start that they were purposefully holding back promo codes, or scraping them from users and holding the affected sites ransom (in a sense). "We'll stop serving this cupon if you become a member." Scummy, but ultimately still slightly beneficial to the end user, a Robbin Hood crime. (Ignoring the people who work with genuinely good companies to get discount codes for things like student projects. Unrecognized casualties.)

It's the affiliate link stealing that's become the source of outcry. That was more stealthy and essentially flipped the script. Now everyone publicly in support of it is being burned.

If you were never involved in it, it really is just funny to see how quickly a corporate Robin Hood figure can flip sides. It's not like we haven't seen numerous examples before, some of them literally taking the namesake.