I don't think anyone was making money on nitter instances anyway, I don't see much in the way of any "brand" or business to lose... and lose to who? Not like there's a competitor. This is just a side project not worth playing games with IMO.

I wouldn't consider temporarily disabling a side project "razing the project to the ground" either.

> no one wants to use you

How do you know this was ever a project goal? Most FOSS projects I talk to have no interest in actively trying to gain more users on purpose.