HaHa! The "eats resources" would not be the most friendly approach . . . although framed in the right context, the A/B test might come out different than we expect!
Overall I agree, if all you are saying is that the "free rider who eats resources" phrasing isn't the most customer friendly possible usage, all other things being equal
All I was saying is if he calls trial users "free riders eating resources" on a tech site which we all understand the verbiage and where this comes from.
How will he treat paying customers ? I smell double standards. That's all I am saying.