I'm disappointed that aTriz chose to go the route he did, and to call a lie a "marketing strategy" is bending the truth past the breaking point.
I'm disappointed because I think he's an excellent campaign manager and an agreeable gentleman as well, and that's a rare combination on bitcointalk. The interaction I've had with him thus far has been positive. I do hope he realizes the error here and doesn't let greed cloud his judgement henceforth.
I'm going to change my positive to a neutral, and I'm hoping for some recognition of the problem on his part--the refund is a positive step. We'll see where this goes.
To say disappointment would be an understatement and I expected him to have handled it better. The statement that after two weeks he is being forced to go along just ended the whole thing. Two weeks is early and right time to pull out without even damaging your reputation (it might take a hit but would survive). And now, he not only affect himself but even those who are close to him which is what some people have been looking for as an opportunity to launch an attack.