Agreed. I think the commenters in the other thread might not have understood how the extension worked. While the end result is the same, it feels like there's a difference between "circumvent a paywall" and "pretend I'm coming from Google search result".
1) Many people are ethically opposed to circumventing paywalls.
2) Many people are ethically opposed to paywalls treating certain traffic as special or different.
As Jeremy says below:
"What's not so great is creating an internet where if you use our Trusted Corporate Partner™ you're allowed to view a public webpage, and if you come from anywhere less privileged on the internet, you're not. That's not sustainable. Lest we fall into a vortex where you're only allowed to browse the public web by logging in through Facebook. I wouldn't want to be online in that world."
I agree. I think the difference in responses from HN commenters is about which ethical evaluation people are focusing on, #1 or #2 above.
1) Many people are ethically opposed to circumventing paywalls.
2) Many people are ethically opposed to paywalls treating certain traffic as special or different.
As Jeremy says below: "What's not so great is creating an internet where if you use our Trusted Corporate Partner™ you're allowed to view a public webpage, and if you come from anywhere less privileged on the internet, you're not. That's not sustainable. Lest we fall into a vortex where you're only allowed to browse the public web by logging in through Facebook. I wouldn't want to be online in that world."
I agree. I think the difference in responses from HN commenters is about which ethical evaluation people are focusing on, #1 or #2 above.