How come a paywalled content gets to the top of the HN front-page?
This is in the FAQ at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html and there's more explanation here:
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so...
I can't remember seeing any pay walled article on HN that wasn't bypassable using popular free services online. Usually, someone will also link one of the bypass websites pretty soon after a post starts gaining traction.
The “This doesn't align with my expectations so it must be wrong” response is fascinating.
I respond to the headline/other discussion in the thread if it is interesting. IMO, the publisher’s decision of how they want their work distributed and discussed should be respected. That includes not making unauthorized copies, and also the fact that that constrains conversation about their work.
I’m surprised that we seem to understand this for software but not written word. And we mostly act accordingly: lots of discussion of open source works, not so much on “paywalled” proprietary software.
And, I suppose, there are a few HN people who have subscriptions.
And probably a few who just upvote based on the title.
(I think it only takes 4 up votes to hit the front page if they happen quickly enough.)