It's not plural. It was one person, and it was confronted. The post had next to little to do with this thread at all and was a deliberate attempt at provocation to another member in this topic. Not the place for it in a product announcement thread.
Again, not plural. One guy, who has a clear history and I don't think many would disagree his posts didn't warrant such an action. They're still here for all to read and gain context.
So what? No one is holding a gun to anyone's head. You have the option to buy the product or not. It's not as if this is all too uncommon a practice in ANY business arena. You either want to upgrade or you don't, and if you do, we're extending a very generous 50% off. I wish more companies would do this for other software I own.
Read this thread in its entirety. You'll quickly find most people are more thankful than disgruntled. I don't see many issues here.