Obtaining a copy of the Complete Arcane so as to use one of its base classes is not jumping through hoops... but downloading a PDF from Crystalkeep and using the information therein is?
Actually, yes.
Nobody in any of my current groups uses gaming pdfs. No table I've sat at in the past 10 years uses gaming pdfs.
Neither are +2 swords, +3 armor, or Boots of Flying.
Your point?
I was using rhetorical exaggeration.
Just like gaming pdfs, no campaign I've been a part of has ever used any of those qualities except Mithril.
The others are
considerably more exotic than +2 weapons, Boots of Flying or anything else from the DMG.
And even though they show up in the Completes, IME, more people are far more inclined to use the Base classes, PrCls, Feats & spells than the exotic materials.
While I've not seen most of those classes, etc. in play, I have had the option of using them- not so the special materials. The same goes for campaign settings- despite extensive play in FR, none of the exotic materials from Magic of Faerun has seen action.
(Obviously, YMMV.)