Some further analysis that argues this is fair use: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49440395

There's also going to be an opt-out feature: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49439657

they certainly havr given that license

otherwise my browser could not make reproductions and store caches

they have granted a licence to HN (and YC-affiliated companies), not anyone else. It's that licence that permits HN, and HN only, to send users' content to your browser

So if someone uses a VPN to access Hacker News, the VPN is infringing copyright?

Transient copies of user data, in traffic, memory or caches, are protected by the copyright law, so there is no infringing.

Nobody should have those rights. Copyright has been a disaster for the human race.

Didn't realise everything I posted online was copyrighted by default

Any creative work you create is copyrighted by default as soon as it is recorded onto some medium, at least in the US. https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/

Interesting. Maybe I'm thinking of "registration" in regards to copyright which is talked about in that link.