Originally Posted by
ftpjesus
Paywalls are a scam end of story. This shit used to be free online to anybody to read but theyve killed their subscription base for the paper product and then demand ridiculous sub fees to read articles online. If it was a small cost maybe people wouldnt give a shit but when you want the same cost to read online what it costs them nowhere near to provide (no printing costs no delivery costs other then a little data bandwidth) its basically a moneygrab for the leftist media outlets to make guys like Bezos (who owns the Washington Post) more money then hes already making with Amazon.
They're not a scam. There is offer, consideration and then either acceptance or refusal.
The one thing that the print industry got wrong is that they created a standard, as you essentially point out, that creates an expectation that online media should be free and NOT be a subscription model. I definitely do not hold the media sites responsible for (their own) dwindling paper market; many people simply do not consume physical written media anymore. It was move to the internet, at least in part, or die. It's not as if they had a market and lost it because they fucked up; the market left of its own accord for a replacement product that is considered to be superior. Horse buggy repairmen aren't doing so hot, either.
I agree that the prices might be more than can be justified, but since I am simply not going to read the Washington Post, and will therefore pay nothing, the prices are immaterial to me. Besides that, these companies should have a little forgiveness to tinker around with finding different revenue-producing models, or perhaps to adjust prices downward.
As I said, it's a very transitional period right now. It's not often that you see a very long-standing industry essentially depleted by 60% within a twenty-year span. It's going to take some time to figure out.
Either way, if not enough people buy, then they'll have to figure out something else; it's that simple.
In the meantime, I don't think that enables me to feel entitled to reading their content for free. I certainly couldn't read their content for free in the 90's, unless I was in a doctor's office, or something.
Also, ad blockers. Fuck ad blockers.