The design intent is almost certainly using Google's "first click free" policy, which primarily applies to newspapers like the NYT or WSJ. Google back in the day struck a deal with the print media: they would remain in Google's index if and only if clicking from a Google search to their articles circumvented their paywall on the first click. If they put only partial content or a full paywall, they'd be delisted. It was not exactly a secret that this would mean that Google would rank scrapers higher for NYT articles than they'd rank the NYT.

Thus, when someone posts a paywalled link to HN, someone inevitably posts the advice "Google the title and click through." (Other than, say, "If you're a working professional, just buy a WSJ and NYT subscription.")