It doesn't hurt your internet reputation as much as it gives them fake internet reputation. Which eventually will come bite them back if they try to use it.
My local newspaper's website never links to outside pages, always to previous articles within the site. I assume it is to prevent readers to go wander off.
An easy way to check would be to give the users gloves of a distinguishable color they are not wearing (it just have to cover the back of the hand) and check for that color to cover the dots.
Maybe it would be more accurate with sensors in the holds (maybe a low range IR sensor on each one). Starting/stopping the timer then would just be a matter of touching the right hold.
I once used Google Forms and Sheets to let users add data for a website (for which I had no control) and show the data with a userscript. You can even send simple sql in the url and get only the data you need.
No flash, no sidebars, no bottom bars, no comments, a total of 6 requests vs 98. Of course it loads faster. And looks better. This is the way the web should be.
With the previous model you could just stop paying them and keep using your current version of the software. With the new model stop paying them and you are locked out.
I'm glad I don't have to maintain anything in it again.