I don't understand the negative response towards someone who is trying to make money by improving peoples lives on a site which is focused on just that.

I find there are lessons to be learned from everyone, even the most scammy looking of internet marketers. The hard part is to control ourselves from having the knee-jerk reaction of rejecting the person, and just taking from the material what we think will be useful. Or in other words, take everything with a pinch of salt and keep an open mind.