4 ms·

Why does HN allow intentional bypass of paywalls? It’s no different than providing links to pirated software. On the one hand, we complain about aggressive adve

Why does HN allow intentional bypass of paywalls? It’s no different than providing links to pirated software. On the one hand, we complain about aggressive advertising while simultaneously doing everything possible to ensure publications don’t earn any money.

joejerryronnie 8y ago
Because, for all our self righteous indignation, we still want free stuff like everyone else.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
untog 8y ago
It isn't quite the same, because these publications do offer their content for free... to the Google indexer. So they're kind of trying to have it both ways. That said, I agree with the broader point: if you value something that has a price on it then you really ought to pay for it at some point. You can object to anything you want ("there are still ads!", "why can't I pay per article?"), but it's all besides the point. There is a price attached and you can pay it or not pay it, but refusing to pay while still consuming it isn't really defensible, beyond "I can do it and you can't stop me".
- ttty 8y ago
  I'm not sure, but some paid software is provided for free to some reviews or other people... By the same line of thought... Is fine to pirate them?
  - untog 8y ago
    Fair point. I'm not really sure it's a comparison worth exploring too deeply as there are just too many differences. For instance, what's the pirated program equivalent of viewing just one article? I think (hope?) most people here would agree that a hack providing you with a full WSJ subscription would be inappropriate. But many are fine with a single article. Perhaps that's hypocritical, I dunno.
  - panzagl 8y ago
    If the reviewer normally reviews free games, and it was sent to the reviewer with a stated MSRP of $0, then it is misleading to try to charge everyone else after they read the review.
el_benhameen 8y ago
I think this is a fair question. I think the reaction would be different if e.g. a link to a cracked copy was added to every post about a piece of software.
diminoten 8y ago
Because information wants to be free. This is "hacker" news, after all.
stale2002 8y ago
Well, an alternative solution would be to ban all links to paywall content. Are you sure that this is what you'd want?
baroffoos 8y ago
If paywall bypasses are banned then all paywall links should be banned from being posted

joejerryronnie 8y ago

Because, for all our self righteous indignation, we still want free stuff like everyone else.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

untog 8y ago

It isn't quite the same, because these publications do offer their content for free... to the Google indexer. So they're kind of trying to have it both ways. That said, I agree with the broader point: if you value something that has a price on it then you really ought to pay for it at some point. You can object to anything you want ("there are still ads!", "why can't I pay per article?"), but it's all besides the point. There is a price attached and you can pay it or not pay it, but refusing to pay while still consuming it isn't really defensible, beyond "I can do it and you can't stop me".

ttty 8y ago
I'm not sure, but some paid software is provided for free to some reviews or other people... By the same line of thought... Is fine to pirate them?
- untog 8y ago
  Fair point. I'm not really sure it's a comparison worth exploring too deeply as there are just too many differences. For instance, what's the pirated program equivalent of viewing just one article? I think (hope?) most people here would agree that a hack providing you with a full WSJ subscription would be inappropriate. But many are fine with a single article. Perhaps that's hypocritical, I dunno.
- panzagl 8y ago
  If the reviewer normally reviews free games, and it was sent to the reviewer with a stated MSRP of $0, then it is misleading to try to charge everyone else after they read the review.

el_benhameen 8y ago

I think this is a fair question. I think the reaction would be different if e.g. a link to a cracked copy was added to every post about a piece of software.

diminoten 8y ago

Because information wants to be free. This is "hacker" news, after all.

stale2002 8y ago

Well, an alternative solution would be to ban all links to paywall content. Are you sure that this is what you'd want?

baroffoos 8y ago

If paywall bypasses are banned then all paywall links should be banned from being posted