Arguing that people shouldn't steal shit on a forum where lots of people frequently talk about how they refuse to pay for shit isn't just "dishonesty."
That discussion needs to happen, and bad actors who won't recognize that they're bad actors are a huge problem.
You misrepresent the position of many HNers. Most people here don't mind paying for things, the only mind paying for shit; for stuff that's broken, crippled by bad DRM.
But when an honest author games a system that tries to take advantage of them and manages to make that work, that's something I applaud.
That discussion needs to happen, and bad actors who won't recognize that they're bad actors are a huge problem.