It's all so bizarre. They don't want to pay but expect in-depth articles.

It's akin somewhat to the open-source crowd demanding features (and security updates) all without donating to the project.

No, we just expect them not to be posted on link aggregators like HN. Because they are useless links for 99% of readers.

Did you know that video game piracy enhances video game sales? That's because if someone pirates a game and likes it, they might buy it, recommend it to friends, or buy the next one.

> They don't want to pay but expect in-depth articles.

You are putting words in my mouth I've never said. I don't "expect in-depth articles", HN would be perfectly fine without paywalled content.