Maybe I’m too far gone, because that doesn’t seem very dark to me. But to answer the question:

  - I buy into the idea that distribution/retention can often make or break a product.
  - I personally find almost all sales and retention techniques annoying. 
  - Since it works, and I’ll have to implement some form of it, I don’t see much difference in which specific form it is, unless it’s really obviously scammy.  What’s the difference in annoying people when they unsubscribe vs annoying people with Facebook ads?  As long as they ultimately have a choice whether we get their money or not, it’s the same to me.

I can honestly say if you gave me the choice between extra retention pages vs sitting through video ads for example, I’d take the former without hesitation. So are ads a dark pattern? I’m sure some on HN would say so.