Quote - My statements were not meant to be rude but to help the OP understand the lay of the land.

Better the OP learn now how things work.  Simple as that.

In retrospect I should have said: "please excuse the apparent rude tone..." no one was being deliberately rude, but were certainly operating from the same sentiment I am: protecting our own.

Can't help but wonder: do other sites tacitly condone software piracy by never addressing this with new members? you know, the "don't ask, don't tell" approach? or am I opening a can of worms?

BTW, I'm not condoning software piracy at any level... corporations price their software at corporate pricing levels for a reason, I guess. Personally, I simply won't use software that costs too much for my budget: there are much less expensive alternatives - sometimes even free! All software I have on my system is either no-cost (like Blender, which foundation I do donate to) or paid-for, licenced-to-me versions.

Same for content... particularly so!

Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2

Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand] 

Metaphor of Chooks