I don't think this is the vibe a small/unreadable author's name text gives. With self-pubbing, it's entirely possible to leave an author's name off the cover entirely or publish it under "Anonymous" or anything you like, so the shame factor really isn't there.
It's also unlikely that anyone so uncomfortable with others reading their work would self-publish in the first place.
So I would just assume that they either don't care about building a brand, or don't realize the importance/use of a readable author's name on the cover. Or they're bad at typography or Photoshop