That's a hell of an assumption that looks a lot more like, an excuse at best, denial at worst.

This doesn't even make sense. If they are crying about the rewards in the same breath they cry about censorship, it seems pretty obvious. There was something

How illogical.

here, and it was your opening statement that doesn't make sense.

Maybe they would bend over an Self-Censor (as you suggest) if that were the case, but it isn't.

Actually, many of them do indeed stop posting on those subjects that were supposedly so dear to them, and whip up what I think of as tantrum posts.