We have differing tastes, obviously. I consider big, thick novels to be a blight on the market. I believe that anything that encourages more short fiction is to be applauded.

But, you're absolutely right about the rest. If this is a hot new trend, then all that's happening is that readers are being turned off of short fiction. A reader shouldn't have to go to an author's web site to find missing information. The novella should be self-contained, or the novel should make a reference to previous actions (just like it would to action in previous books).