Isn't this just another iteration of the old 'kudos or I won't write any more' thing, where people don't carry on unless they get whatever they consider to be 'sufficient' positive reinforcement? That's always struck me as the literary equivalent of a toddler sitting down on the floor in the supermarket and refusing to move until they get whatever they're demanding, and I don't see how this is any better. If a person isn't writing any given story there's usually a reason for it, and IMHO the reason on the whole is unlikely to be shortage of money.

I think the kindest thing I can say about all this is that it's 'misguided'. I'm not going to say they're crooked in intention, but I definitely don't think they have the first idea of what they're doing - and I feel very sorry for anyone foolish enough to support them because payday, if it ever happens, is likely to be a very long way away.