Yes, it would be warez, as the term is used by the administrative and moderating staff of this forum. Online, it's trivially easy for someone to say they own the game already, and just about impossible to verify it (it is possible, but the effort to do so exceeds the value of the result, not to mention that the forum staff, frankly, has better things to do with their time, having a life outside WC [well, okay, at least in theory]).
Also, as the previous thread noted, it's not that hard to find a used copy on eBay or whatnot, for at most a couple of bucks. The "used games" bins/shelves of more than a few game stores can also yield results, as it did for my EA Classics CD version of Armada, for all of 5 bucks and burning a little gas to head to the mall.
As for the rules, they are there for a reason, you know, and not just to see us flapping our gums (well, fingers). Reading them before posting is a highly recommended course of action.