>It's kind-of depressing to think about people trying their best to freeload instead of paying a (symbolic) price, don't you think?

Not particularly. It's depressing to see businesses profitably exploit that work, and irritating to see people develop a sense of entitlement without ever contributing back.

Though I wish more general users donated to projects, people using the software without paying seems better than people not using or paying for the software, and far better than paying and being unable to use the software.