If you admit using an old, outdated version of a game, you may be
asked why are you playing it to check if you have pirated the game. If
you admit playing a version that is no longer legally obtainable and
playable, the question will be closed. It seems to happen even if it
is not a question about a bug that might exist due the game being
pirated.
We do not ask why you are playing it, but instead, how. The reason why this question was closed, is because there is no legal way to play this version of the game. That's very obvious. We don't care why OP was playing it.
The closing of questions about bugs existing due to games being pirated has nothing to do with trying to help people around bugs - we do that all the time, instead, it has to do with playing pirated games.
What are those reasons? I am especially interested in those that are
not morality-based, because it is a very controversial issue, and
piracy is itself controversial enough.
There is one reason why we do not allow these questions: Pirated games are illegal.
There is no legality check about pirated games, it's illegal. Hard stop. Piracy itself is not controversial at all. There are laws everywhere, not only pertaining to video games that prohibit the stealing of intellectual property - movies, books, music, software and even ideas.
We DO allow questions about emulation, because emulation is legal - but the majority of questions that come through about emulation are clearly asking about pirated software or pirated games.