PA is not a 'scam' per se; what it IS is an author mill, technically, though that's not really a technical term.
Christine, I have great respect for you and this disagreement does not, in any way, alter that, but I can not agree that PA is an author mill in the traditional sense of a mill. When you look at the mill process, you find there is one advantage to the mill process. You get good at one thing.
The example can be taken from Earl Shieb (sp?) Paint and Body. They were terrible paint jobs, but you came in at 8 AM and drove home my 5PM. The advantage to working there, you got good at spraying the paint. The body work was terrible. You got a bad rep from working there. But you got good at a gloss finish by sheer repetition.
At PA, just simply writing will help improve what you do, but there is no incentive to get better. You simply turn out the same stuff you did before, making the same mistakes as before. At a real publisher, the editors send you corrections that teach you what your specific errors are. Most editors at PA that I've seen didn't know what to edit, how to edit, or were simply using a flawed edit process given them by their bosses. In any case, the mistakes that are made are reinforced by the editors. If they didn't see anything wrong with the book, everything the author did must be correct.
We may be saying the same thing in a different manner. I may have just pointed out something you mentioned, but in more detail. Either way, I applaud your willingness to be on this board against the threats you have received.
just a thought...