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Notice how by likening a paywall to the Maginot Line, the internet must take the role of Hitler's invading forces. I wonder if that was the author's deliberate

Notice how by likening a paywall to the Maginot Line, the internet must take the role of Hitler's invading forces. I wonder if that was the author's deliberate implication.

pyre 16y ago
I think that you're taking the analogy too far. The main point seems to be that the paywall is this 'line in the sand' that keeps moving as soon as the 'enemy' crosses it.
- kujhytrtyu 16y ago
  The maginot line failed because they only built it along the border with their enemy (germany) and didn't continue it along the border with their friend (belgium) - so the enemy simply drove around it. In newspaper terms it's like having a paywall but allowing the full text of the story to appear via Google's cache.
  - forkandwait 16y ago
    Also, the maginot line was a system of heavy (i.e. immovable) fortifications and France's only defensive plan. Once germany found a way around it (duh), France could not quickly change strategy (it didn't have a Plan B) or mobilize the resources sunk into the Line (they were concrete). Oops.
  - RickHull 16y ago
    > The maginot line failed because they ... didn't continue it along the border with their friend (belgium) - so the enemy simply drove around it. Wikipedia says this is a myth: > It is a myth however that the Maginot Line ended at the Belgian border and was easy to circumvent.[2] The fortifications were connected to the Belgian fortification system, of which the strongest point was Fort Eben-Emael. [2] Mosier, J. The Blitzkrieg Myth: How Hitler and the Allies Misread the Strategic Realities of World War II, HarperCollins, 2004, pp. 2, 38. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line
    - kujhytrtyu 16y ago
      Still happened though
      - foljs 16y ago
        Still something else happened --not the original argument (that they bypassed it because it wasn't extended to Belgium).
        davewiner 16y ago
        The moral of the story is that, while the Maginot Line would have been a perfect defense in World War I, it was ineffective in World War II. People are always preparing to fight the last war. Very common mistake. A failure of imagination.
        macrael 16y ago
        item 2000000!
brc 16y ago
The Maginot line was built to stop anyone coming in. Hitler was not a major figure when it was built. The Paywalls are being built to try and keep out the hordes, it represents the same fear of the unknown that created the Maginot line.
- foljs 16y ago
  """it represents the same fear of the unknown that created the Maginot line.""" If by "unknown" you refer to rival armies invading your country, yes, but it is still a very strange phrasing. It wasn't build to protect from squirrels and tourists, you know...

Notice how by likening a paywall to the Maginot Line, the internet must take the role of Hitler's invading forces. I wonder if that was the author's deliberate implication.

pyre 16y ago

I think that you're taking the analogy too far. The main point seems to be that the paywall is this 'line in the sand' that keeps moving as soon as the 'enemy' crosses it.

kujhytrtyu 16y ago
The maginot line failed because they only built it along the border with their enemy (germany) and didn't continue it along the border with their friend (belgium) - so the enemy simply drove around it. In newspaper terms it's like having a paywall but allowing the full text of the story to appear via Google's cache.
- forkandwait 16y ago
  Also, the maginot line was a system of heavy (i.e. immovable) fortifications and France's only defensive plan. Once germany found a way around it (duh), France could not quickly change strategy (it didn't have a Plan B) or mobilize the resources sunk into the Line (they were concrete). Oops.
- RickHull 16y ago
  > The maginot line failed because they ... didn't continue it along the border with their friend (belgium) - so the enemy simply drove around it. Wikipedia says this is a myth: > It is a myth however that the Maginot Line ended at the Belgian border and was easy to circumvent.[2] The fortifications were connected to the Belgian fortification system, of which the strongest point was Fort Eben-Emael. [2] Mosier, J. The Blitzkrieg Myth: How Hitler and the Allies Misread the Strategic Realities of World War II, HarperCollins, 2004, pp. 2, 38. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line
  - kujhytrtyu 16y ago
    Still happened though
    - foljs 16y ago
      Still something else happened --not the original argument (that they bypassed it because it wasn't extended to Belgium).
      - davewiner 16y ago
        The moral of the story is that, while the Maginot Line would have been a perfect defense in World War I, it was ineffective in World War II. People are always preparing to fight the last war. Very common mistake. A failure of imagination.
      - macrael 16y ago
        item 2000000!

brc 16y ago

The Maginot line was built to stop anyone coming in. Hitler was not a major figure when it was built. The Paywalls are being built to try and keep out the hordes, it represents the same fear of the unknown that created the Maginot line.

foljs 16y ago
"""it represents the same fear of the unknown that created the Maginot line.""" If by "unknown" you refer to rival armies invading your country, yes, but it is still a very strange phrasing. It wasn't build to protect from squirrels and tourists, you know...