Yes, this is pretty clear collusion, and disgusting. Imagine what penalties would be invoked if this were done in a live casino! I think any player who tries to get the table to stall or announces his hand to influence the action should be disqualified.
It should be obvious that banning these tactics is in the interest of the poker sites, but they seem not to care. I've stopped playing tournaments on multiple sites after receiving unsatisfactory responses from support about players openly colluding.
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Also, a player named yyyyyyyy made a raise, and then
while the other players were deciding, he announced to
the table that he was holding AA and he didn't want
anyone on his table to get knocked-out.
After everyone folded he indeed showed them AA.
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This appears to fit the description of soft-playing in Party's tournament rules:
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18. There should be no soft playing during Tournaments. Soft playing is to not bet your hand to the fullest extent when playing against someone (usually friends and/or family). It goes against the spirit of the game and is considered cheating in some instances. [/list]