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Just to add onto what someone else said, if all users did what you do, the companies would shut down or have to work off of donations

by elamje 8y ago

rolph 8y ago
if all users did what S_at Work , and I do we would actually be back to the internet the way it used to be with those of capability hosting thier sites and BBS's and everyone having a jolly good time for free. I feel sorry for those who have never even experienced the real internet and think the web and facebook are the internet.
- potta_coffee 8y ago
  That's how I feel about it. The crazy thing is, communities I used to go for information have died, the forums are still there but they're essentially dead. Some users went to Facebook, some to Reddit, but I can't go to those places and actually get the information I want, like I used to be able to do. The current corporate internet gobbled up everything without giving us anything in return, and now they want to complain about not making enough money. Boo hoo.
rchaud 8y ago
If those companies offer a product worth paying for, they won't have to. WSJ has had a paywall since 2005, NYT since 2011. The web back then was full of 'hobbyist' websites covering film, music and art. Those websites might have been ugly, but they felt genuine because the person creating content wasn't begging for likes, follows and shares, nor were they stretching 2 mins of content to 10 to meet Youtube's minimum length requirements for video ads. The companies you say would have to shut down are VC-backed "digital media plays" focused on junk food content that attracts eyeballs and ad dollars. There is no shortage of time-waster websites that would pop up to take their place. People pay for Adobe CC, Sketch, AWS hosting, ProtonMail etc, because it's something they feel is worth paying for. They don't pay for 9gag, TMZ or Buzzfeed because they consider them to be time wasters.

Just to add onto what someone else said, if all users did what you do, the companies would shut down or have to work off of donations

by elamje 8y ago

Just to add onto what someone else said, if all users did what you do, the companies would shut down or have to work off of donations

rolph 8y ago

if all users did what S_at Work , and I do we would actually be back to the internet the way it used to be with those of capability hosting thier sites and BBS's and everyone having a jolly good time for free. I feel sorry for those who have never even experienced the real internet and think the web and facebook are the internet.

potta_coffee 8y ago
That's how I feel about it. The crazy thing is, communities I used to go for information have died, the forums are still there but they're essentially dead. Some users went to Facebook, some to Reddit, but I can't go to those places and actually get the information I want, like I used to be able to do. The current corporate internet gobbled up everything without giving us anything in return, and now they want to complain about not making enough money. Boo hoo.

rchaud 8y ago

If those companies offer a product worth paying for, they won't have to. WSJ has had a paywall since 2005, NYT since 2011. The web back then was full of 'hobbyist' websites covering film, music and art. Those websites might have been ugly, but they felt genuine because the person creating content wasn't begging for likes, follows and shares, nor were they stretching 2 mins of content to 10 to meet Youtube's minimum length requirements for video ads. The companies you say would have to shut down are VC-backed "digital media plays" focused on junk food content that attracts eyeballs and ad dollars. There is no shortage of time-waster websites that would pop up to take their place. People pay for Adobe CC, Sketch, AWS hosting, ProtonMail etc, because it's something they feel is worth paying for. They don't pay for 9gag, TMZ or Buzzfeed because they consider them to be time wasters.