Paywalls

What are they?

We've all been there -- reading an interesting article online, when suddenly the page is blocked by notice that says you cannot continue reading unless you subscribe, or disable your ad blockers, etc. These are called "paywalls", and are designed to restrict access to online content like newspapers, magazines, games and more. Paywalls attempt to enforce a "pay-for-access" schema where what you're asked to pay can come in different forms -- some want a credit card; others want you to disable the privacy protections on your browser so they can access your digital exhaust; and others still request that you fill out a form requesting personal information for a "free membership".

Paywalls tend to span the spectrum, when it comes to ethics and tactics. This post won't talk a lot about that here, focusing instead on you, however, I will include a few links at the end where you can continue learning on your own.

Etiquette

Do: be willing to pay journalists and other content creators a *reasonable price* for their work. A lot of independent media organizations like DemocracyNow!, content creators like NBTV, and many others put in a ton of effort in to deliver some educational, enriching and in other ways valuable content; content often conspicuously missing from or critical of mainstream media sources. These groups typically don't use paywalls -- they instead ask their readers & listeners to pay only what they can afford. Consider a small monthly donation -- "the price of a cup of coffee" I hear a lot; or donating part of your annual tax returns, or part of your 13th-month bonus at work, etc.

Do: diversify and expand your inventory of information resources over time. Keep a bookmarks folder in your browser, or use a collection manager like Zotero, to keep track of news or other content sources that you can turn to when needed.

Don't: bow to extortion. If you read one or two articles from the NY Times per year, don't feel obliged to buy an annual subscription for several hundred dollars -- there's nothing inherently ethical about doing what a paywall tells you to do --especially when you're being extorted to pay unreasonable prices and agree to harmful "privacy" policies for a mountain of advertisements with a small stack of articles peppered in. You can probably find a copy of the paper at the library for free; at a news stand for $4, or a similar article from another news source for a more reasonable fee (if not free).

Don't: share links to paywalled resources with folx who can't get through the paywall. People don't like having their time wasted by paywalls that don't pop-up until they're a quarter-way through an article that's just getting interesting. Friends don't send friends links to paywalled articles. If that seems a little much, then let's settle on this: at a minimum, if you absolutely must share that link to the NY Times article you loved so much with someone, don't assume they have the money, skills or time that you don't actually know that they have. Try this instead:

Hey John -- check out this amazing NY Times Article <-insert link here->. It's behind a paywall (sorry!) -- in order to read it, you'll need a NY Times subscription (if you don't already have one, they're $325.00/yr + tax), or you can pick-up a copy of the Times at the grocery store for $4, or you can access it through the county library <-insert link to county library here-> if you have a library card (those are free!).

Purchasing a Subscription

At some point, you might want to purchase a subscription. A lot of newspapers and magazines -- even some of the "good" ones that you like (grrr) exhibit obnoxious, wasteful, sneaky behaviors that you might prefer not to put up with. These can include anything from introductory-rate scams, relentless solicitations to renew; auto-renewing without your consent; sharing or selling your data to data brokers; tracking and collecting your telemetry / digital exhaust; etc.

There are a few things you can do to mitigate the impact these bad behaviors have on your peace and privacy, including:

1. Never use your real credit card. Use a gift-card (even if you have to pay $6 for it at the drug store); or better yet a single-transaction virtual card (like privacy.com if you're in the U.S.). These cards can do a lot to protect your privacy and prevent auto-renewals.
2. Never use your real email address. Use a relay service like simplelogin.com (there are many others as well). When you're ready to end your relationship with the newspaper you're subscribed to -- simply delete the relay address.
3. Stick to digital copy if you can. If you can't, consider renting (by yourself, or shared with a trusted friend or colleague) a mailbox for non-essential mail that you can easily cancel at some future date. This will limit the amount of junkmail /waste; or at least allow you to escape it when you're ready to move on.

Cached Copy Search, Internet Archives, etc.

Newspapers, magazines, etc. want to be found online -- and for that, they need to be searchable by the major search engines. In order to be search-able, they will send their copy to various search engines to be parsed and indexed -- this copy is cached by the search engine -- the cache has public visibility, but is not easy to find. The search engine will hide it from search results, delivering instead search results that link to a copy that is behind the company's paywall.

Similar to caches, archives take snapshots of public web pages over time. These can be fun to browse just out of a sense of nostalgia.

There are a number of search tools can that link you directly to the cached copy or archived version of web pages such as:

• https://12ft.io
• https://1ft.io
• https://archive.is

Be aware that cached copy and archives may not include the most recent updates or corrections. There are also ethical considerations you should take into account when using these resources. For example, if you're an investigative journalist searching for missing copy -- maybe it was deleted at the request of an embarrassed CEO, corrupt police agency or a powerful politician, or the link address was simply changed and now nobody can find it -- that could be a good use of of these resources; but if you're trying to avoid paying a journalist for their work, that could be a bad thing. Ultimately, it is up to you to follow your conscience, and to observe whatever laws you may be obliged to follow where you live.

Learn More

There is a lot more to talk about than I'm not going to get into right here / now. For example, the ethics of different paywall models; what consent means in terms of the "privacy policies" you are coerced to agree to without actually understanding just what and how much data they are taking from you, what they do with it, whether it is ever possible to change you mind and opt out, and how it can ultimately impact your life. I encourage you to stay curious and to learn more about these things as you go. Here are just a few resources to get you started (there are no sponsors or affiliate links here):

• General Info -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paywall
• Virtual Cards -- https://privacy.com/
• Privacy Blogger -- https://www.nbtv.media/
• Relay Email -- https://simplelogin.io/
• Collection Manager -- https://www.zotero.org/

Leave a comment in the guestbook (link at top); share your favorite resources, experiences or advice -- I'd love to know what you have to say.