How about you, YES OR NOR ?
Yes and no.
For those shitty people who want to scam/steal/swindle people out of their hard earned money it is definitely a form of a Ponzi method.
However, that is not the core or true purpose of an ICO. An ICO from my view is a method to form a community of people in support of something they truly want to see happen in the world. It is kind of like kickstarter. Someone has a great idea and can now finance it without having to deal with government and big bank policy. Individuals from around the world can come together to bring something into the world that is truly worth being here and helps our lives and hopefully the nature world as well. The money side of it is the just the fuel for the engine that drives that cause to its reality.
This is why you should only join an ICO after you know who (Humans) is running the project, and if you agree with the project and want to see that, use that in your life. Will this ICO make life, business, the world better?
Excelsior