Ask HN: Why not auto replace paywall links with web archive links?

https://archive.ph/LnakG

On HN, linking to archive.org has traditionally been considered a user activity and some people have a bookmarklet for that purpose using this URL:

javascript:void(open('http://archive.today/?run=1&url='+encodeURIComponent(documen...))

If a submission doesn't matter enough for at least one user to do that, it probably doesn't matter enough to be on HN.

YMMV.

But this is Hacker news.

Don't want to be on the hook for contributory copyright infringement?

I've suggested this too. At the least the archive link could just be added to the control row (immediately under the title) instead of being a crufty comment.

Why allow archive links to paywalled articles at all? Pay for the content or don’t read it.

or just have a bot that auto coomments the archive link. plausible deniability.

Does HN even allow bots?

paywalls are there for a reason...the more you facilitate breaking them the more you resemble thepiratebay...and you dont want HN to end like that

Presumably the number of people following a paywall link from Hn and then deciding to sign up for a newspaper subscription etc is grater than 0