I would respectfully submit that Dean Weingarten was not “giving away” 22 ammunition.
He was offering to trade ammunition, in exchange for recipients’ time and attention.
He did extract merely their promise, it’s true. Their promise to visit his blog and read at least one article.
Not every trade involves an exchange of goods or services for money (or an equivalent amount of different goods or services).
Outsiders - those not a party to the trade - may question the terms of it, or the judgment and good sense of the trading parties. But things generally run better - society at large is better served - if outsiders do not interfere.
Francisco D’Anconia is that you?