> It's ok to post stories from sites with paywalls that have workarounds. In comments, it's ok to ask how to read an article and to help other users do so.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html

Then why not post the workaround in the first place I wonder.

Alternatively an ignorelist of domains would be nice.

Yes, you can submit any local site with a paywall. For what is worth, it is part of the "community guidelines" for HN to not complain about paywalls (see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html ). Someone will probably post a pirated archive link shortly (edit: they already have).

I’m perpetually surprised this otherwise mostly legit site is OK with us sharing links to pirated material.

Part of the community guidelines that we aren’t allowed to discuss is censorship.

I get that we don’t want to spiral on discussing things, but can’t discuss them at all is draconian.

Does your local library provide access to the new york times?

I'm not sure a private company paying money to produce a story for paying customers quite qualifies as "censorship."

The mod team have made themselves clear.[1][2] I'm not sure what more there is to say, you're not going to "discuss" 'dang into submission.

1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10178989

2: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=paywalls%20by:dang&dateRange=a...

[1] was eight years ago. I’m not sure that’s how decisions work. But if anything more stuff is paywalled now I suspect I know how that would go.

I think it is time to reconsider these guidelines. I believe that this community should stand for freely accessible information on the Internet. As it is, we are being gamed: we are used to upvote and popularize content behind paywalls. The owners do not make it freely available, but still get the benefits of the community.

I have nothing against paywalls and paid content (in fact, I subscribe to news publications myself), but I believe they have no place on HN. Either it's on the Internet, or it isn't.