Dumping is about selling at a marginal loss. For example if it cost you $7 to make a widget but you sell it at a loss for $5 because you’re trying to drive a competitor who can make a widget for $6 out of the market. Linux (like most software) has no marginal cost so unless you pay someone to use it dumping doesn’t really apply (Google did do that with Android). For Uber and Lyft I think a reasonable case could be made that they are dumping if they take a marginal loss on each ride to force a lower cost provider out of a market, but companies get a lot of leeway for money spent on “marketing”, eg the losses can be structured as “new driver bonuses” and “new customer discounts” rather than a cost per ride.

Eh, they're written by real humans, trying their best to write something that an audience will enjoy, same as most "pulp" (ie commercial) fiction, same as much SF (much commercial SF is pretty bad of course).

I find the romance sub-genres delightful; not so much to read them (although maybe I should), but just that they exist makes me smile and appreciative of humanity.

I think that romance gets so little respect even from people who appreciate other "pulp" genres like SF or horror, has a lot to do with assumptions about genders of readers. SF has a very "unsavory" past too, but has been "recuperated" somehow. Romance stuff is just books too. I like books, and I'm glad that people still read them!