You're making a distinction on how much money it makes, and whether it's a net gain?
The IRS is pretty clear that there is no difference - either you get paid from activity on the site (I do, Frohmader does, this site does), or you don't.
If you don't want to buy anything, you don't - but then, there's a limit to how much the site owner feels like doing without compensation. Frohmader may have reached his boil-over point. Mine was when some pinhead reported me for plagiarism - he claimed I stole my own material....
Not sure what you mean by "bait and switch"?
