For such skilled programmer, your logical skills definitely need work. Here we go with that Modus Tollens again. Assuming “not P,” when once again you haven’t proven “not Q.”
Translate “then they will stand by it and by me.” Define “stand by,” because people here are, in a sense, “standing by” the value of your doc. Obviously people are upset that it’s been taken down, which implies a value to the works beyond your simple lesson in capitalist economics. The logical value of a phrase like “stand by” is inherently subjective; unless you intend to express physical proximity. Arguably, people are “standing by” you in voicing the obvious value of the works you’ve produced. You obviously define “stand by” in terms of monetary support, but that meaning isn’t itself apparent in the sentence’s core structure. If people didn’t care, there wouldn’t be any kind of response to losing “the doc.”
Your qualm is that people have not paid you for something which you had provided to them with the understanding that it was free. By the way, retroactively taking privileges from users who have not violated the licensing agreement, or to charge for the content, seems to be in violation of your license. Also, you still haven’t given us the total amount of ransom requested. An attainable fundraising goal of some sort might help give people a clearer incentive to pitch in?
Unless you’re just expecting everyone to open their wallets and make it rain. Nevermind that you’d be charging people to access information which was obtained through and is applicable only to stolen property. I pay a monthly fee to host this website, and an annual domain renewal fee; never once have I asked for assistance, nor have I ever demanded repayment from my beneficiaries. I’ve been unemployed for seven months straight (basically, the majority of this site’s lifespan). It can’t take up that much Dropbox space as to require a service charge, can it? If so, other hosting can be arranged.
Given the current impasse, I would not begrudge users for distributing the doc. In light of your own intransigence, what other option are people left with? This is a hobby, and nobody else demands any sort of payment from other members in this fashion. Charging for services is fine, charging for information of this type feels both legally and morally dubious.
If you were to take out all of the custom code and simply leave us with documentation on the GBAFE games, that might be an adequate solution for both aggrieved parties. That, however, would require effort in sorting through the doc to determine what you’d like to hide behind your paywall (and I don’t expect you’ll be putting in any degree of effort until you get paid; the best solution to the problem is entirely unworkable).
That this is the natural reply of the community might give you pause to re-assess your goal, and whether your actions are conducive to the accomplishment of your goal.