Honestly, I don’t mind them adding ads. They’ve got a business to support. But, calling them “quests” and treating them as “rewards” for their users is just so tone-deaf and disingenuous. Likewise, if I’ve boosted even a single server, I shouldn’t see this crap anywhere, let alone on the server I’ve boosted.

After repeated failures to pass a test, I do not think it is unreasonable for the business to stop paying for your attempts at a certification. Either directly via training sessions and testing fees, or indirectly via your working hours.

In the US, salaried engineers are exempt from overtime pay regulations. He is telling them to work 20 extra hours, with no extra pay.