If services are more than $0, piracy will thrive. It is now and has always been justified with these sorts of articles.
It's really just an excuse to get free stuff.
The notable thing is this author wrote the Mastering Vim book:
> Yeah, piracy isn’t legal, yada-yada. But if $30 is too much right now and your library doesn’t have a copy to spare - I won’t blame you for torrenting it. Here’s my full permission, I hope you enjoy the result of my sweat, tears, and deadline anxiety.