That's exactly what I thought . There are bound to be people who didn't manage to fill it in due to website problems , Internet problems...etc or simply didn't know about it.
Your first reply says with a METV you can possibly get up to 9 months in Thailand , then your second post mentions possible problems when re-entering if you only spend short entries in Thailand or travel back to back . Surely that's how a METV is supposed to work .
That's my exactly my thoughts too . They have realised how much money they could be making if all those visa exempt entries became paid for by visa fees . It's not they don't want people to visit they just want to make more money .
Anonymous participant I would say , that is the reason you were denied then . Regarding the email there is probably something lost in translation between being denied and blacklisted . Try for a multi entry tourist visa as the embassy suggests and see what happens , it's cheaper than a DTV .