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OT: This page loads the full article, flickers for a moment, and then hides everything but the first three paragraphs. Instead I see a button to 'Show the full

OT: This page loads the full article, flickers for a moment, and then hides everything but the first three paragraphs. Instead I see a button to 'Show the full article'. What is the reason for this? I've seen this pattern in a few places and assumed it was to speed up mobile page loads. But seeing as it loads the full page before hiding it I'm now not sure.

WalterSear 11y ago
It is to speed up page loads. Most likely, the page is being rendered to HTML on the server and then client side javascript picks up where the server left off, once it has loaded and launched. So, you get the full page load, and >then< the javascript checks to see if it should display it. The alternative is to have the page hide the content initially and have the javascript re-enable it, but this would involve a flash of 'closed page' for actual subscriber and people who came via google.
superuser2 11y ago
NYT will let you hit any number of pages; your paywall quota is only consumed by those where you are interested enough to click "Show Full Article."
- anindyabd 11y ago
  I do not think this is the case. I tested this out by clicking on several articles without hitting "Show Full Article" on any of them. On the first article, I was told I was reading 2 of 10 free articles. After 8 clicks I hit my quota.
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nordsieck 11y ago
Companies want paywalled content to be indexed by Google.
Sir_Substance 11y ago
It doesn't do that on mine, benefits of blocking all their scripts I guess. Try throwing in privacy badger, ghostery and no script, then see if it still does it.
morgante 11y ago
It's to expose you to the links underneath the article. After reading the headline and first paragraph, many people would bounce (especially on mobile). By giving them alternative exit strategies, the button marginally increases traffic. (Yes, this has been rigorously tested.)
CPLX 11y ago
I always assumed that was done as a metric, so they could see what percentage of people who saw the page actually read it. But admittedly that is just conjecture.

WalterSear 11y ago

It is to speed up page loads. Most likely, the page is being rendered to HTML on the server and then client side javascript picks up where the server left off, once it has loaded and launched. So, you get the full page load, and >then< the javascript checks to see if it should display it. The alternative is to have the page hide the content initially and have the javascript re-enable it, but this would involve a flash of 'closed page' for actual subscriber and people who came via google.

superuser2 11y ago

NYT will let you hit any number of pages; your paywall quota is only consumed by those where you are interested enough to click "Show Full Article."

anindyabd 11y ago
I do not think this is the case. I tested this out by clicking on several articles without hitting "Show Full Article" on any of them. On the first article, I was told I was reading 2 of 10 free articles. After 8 clicks I hit my quota.

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nordsieck 11y ago

Companies want paywalled content to be indexed by Google.

Sir_Substance 11y ago

It doesn't do that on mine, benefits of blocking all their scripts I guess. Try throwing in privacy badger, ghostery and no script, then see if it still does it.

morgante 11y ago

It's to expose you to the links underneath the article. After reading the headline and first paragraph, many people would bounce (especially on mobile). By giving them alternative exit strategies, the button marginally increases traffic. (Yes, this has been rigorously tested.)

CPLX 11y ago

I always assumed that was done as a metric, so they could see what percentage of people who saw the page actually read it. But admittedly that is just conjecture.