![Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom [ CONSENT OF THE NETWORKED: THE WORLDWIDE STRUGGLE FOR INTERNET FREEDOM ] by MacKinnon, Rebecca (Author) Jan-31-2012 [ Hardcover ]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41NsSvkiScL._SL75_.jpg)
Saturday
Dec172011
The problem with pay walls
Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 9:35AM
This morning I tried to follow a link to an article in The Times on the death of Christopher Hitchens. I was greeted with the following screen.
How ironic that they should offer the content on my terms when it is clearly being offered on their terms. I didn't take up their offer as I have little or no interest in reading The Times other than when someone whose judgment and intelligence I trust points to their content. I am not unwilling to pay for stuff but "on my terms". Their paywall, as currently conceived, makes this impossible.
How ironic that they should offer the content on my terms when it is clearly being offered on their terms. I didn't take up their offer as I have little or no interest in reading The Times other than when someone whose judgment and intelligence I trust points to their content. I am not unwilling to pay for stuff but "on my terms". Their paywall, as currently conceived, makes this impossible.
Reader Comments (1)
I used to read the odd Times story online and now I don't. Surprised they didn't take the approach "register free and get 5 stories a week without paying" (or similar). That would have worked for me, and I don't see why it could not have worked for them - heavy users (happily!) pay, casual users served (and hopefully drawn in so they become heavy users), search bots could be blocked.
So for now I don't read Times and this will not change until a) all newspapers erect a paywall and I'll have to reconsider, or b) News Int backtracks