Right, and in return the manager put the squeeze on him which cost him thousands if not tens of thousands over the years. He should have

* gone to the manager first and have asked for a higher raise (in a non-confrontational way).

* used it as leverage for a better description of what he needed to do to get a higher raise in the next review round

* not let him be pushed in a corner where he's being compared to his colleagues. This is a sure loss position. You need to differentiate yourself so that you are freed from the mental chains of other people's salaries, and you can argue a higher salary on individual merit. This is a rookie mistake I hear so often (and that people have thanked me for pointing it out to them when I discussed with them about their upcoming salary negotiations).

(apart from this, it's refreshing not to have post scores visible!)