Is there a chance some really big shit is going on in their lives, and they are incapable of going online? For like... A month? I really can't believe this is an exit scam. The service seemed legitimate.
The only valid excuse would be that this whole service is run by a single person, and that person is dead, in jail, hospital, or anything that stops him from physically operating the mixer, and that won't be any better than the whole service being a straight-out scam.
Even if they have temporarily lost access to everything, they could have created a new account on the forum and said something, this could be done using a mobile phone anywhere on the planet where they have internet, there is no excuse to
- Not show up on the forum for a month.
- Not Reply to any e-mails for weeks.
- Not Fix your service for weeks.
A 10-word post by a newbie account claiming to be affiliated with Whirlwind would make things seem a lot less scammy, but this silence leaves no questions.
So even if they come back with whatever excuse and compensate everyone, how would anyone trust them again? it's game over for Whirlwind, if they plan to do another scam or relaunch their "legit but terrible service", they would need to start fresh, using a different name, style, and everything.
I'm really pissed off, and not because I lost money; fortunately, I had grasped that "don't leave coins to third parties" cliché. I'm so pissed off because I've been advertising and recommending this shit for months, in such a way that I'm practically part of this scam. And it's just feels awful.
It makes you question the integrity of the service you're currently carrying in your signature.
Ya doesn't feel great, but don't blame yourself, because
1- You didn't know it would turn out to be this.
2- You had no way of knowing.
3- You were not a part of the scam, but rather a victim.
As a campaign participant or a campaign manager, you are not responsible for the quality or the integrity of the service, yes you shouldn't promote services you know to be a scam or has a terrible reputation, but as long as the service works, looks legit at that time of you wearing their signature I don't think anyone should hold you responsible for anything, everyone who uses it is responsible for their own actions.