4 ms·

Can we have a new rule on HN please that if you submit a paywalled or loginwalled article you have to post the full text in a comment? "Web" link not working.

by mantap 7y ago

herendin2 7y ago
Have you tried opening the "Web" link in an incognito or private browser window?
- mantap 7y ago
  To be clear, it's not a cookie problem. The web link "works" in that I can see more of the article but it still cuts off partway through. I assumed that they are providing a partial article for Google to index.
ce4 7y ago
Bypass Paywalls for Firefox works for me, not sure why it's not in the official Mozilla addon repository though, you may want to inspect the code before using it: https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-firefox/blob/master/README.md https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-firefox/blob/m... Edit: reading the code is interesting on it's own, to see what each of the sites need to work (set user agent to Googlebot, referer to coming from facebook, etc.)
- iudqnolq 7y ago
  It used to be, and was removed in a big purge of add-ons that help you infringe copyright. Thankfully, Mozilla's open model means anyone can still install it, their security model means the extension can only access a fixed list of sites it bypassess paywals on, and Mozilla's security UI communicates effectively when you click install on Github that this extension hasn't been reviewed but is limited in what it can do.
  - ce4 7y ago
    Thanks for the Information, apparently it was discussed a year ago already, had missed that. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18567578 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18567578
    - iudqnolq 7y ago
      Me too :) In that thread they talk not being able to install unsigned extensions in stock latest Firefox. That hasn't been the case for me. It might be because I'm on Linux, but I'm pretty sure that policy changed. Overall, I have a lot of sympathy for Mozilla deciding not to spend their resources defending defeating paywalls.
deleted 7y ago
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obituary_latte 7y ago
Unfortunately, it seems this is an issue that won’t be fixed. Despite it being an issue for many users, talking about it typically just leads to downvotes even if the comment is productive in that it proposes solutions. It would be simple to fix either by allowing users to blacklist paywalled urls or creating an auto-outline bot or something but for whatever reason it doesn’t seem to be worthy of addressing despite the fact that invariably there are people that have issues with it as evidenced by comments like this one in pretty much every paywalled submission. It’s a shame, really, because it likely prevents a lot of good discussion that would take place if everyone could read the linked content.
gberger 7y ago
Wouldn't that constitute copyright infringiment?
- baddox 7y ago
  I’m not sure, but posting a URL that doesn’t serve any useful content to a public news aggregator leads to a pretty terrible user experience. I don’t distinguish between different types of URLs that serve nothing but a solicitation for payment: to me, a pay walled news site is no different than any other spam site that appears to promise content but really just asks for money. I would like to see news aggregators (and similar services, like search engines) enact policies explicitly banning such URLs, simply because it’s a terrible user experience.
vasco 7y ago
I flag all articles that are paywalled, maybe you should too.

Can we have a new rule on HN please that if you submit a paywalled or loginwalled article you have to post the full text in a comment? "Web" link not working.

by mantap 7y ago

Can we have a new rule on HN please that if you submit a paywalled or loginwalled article you have to post the full text in a comment? "Web" link not working.

herendin2 7y ago

Have you tried opening the "Web" link in an incognito or private browser window?

mantap 7y ago
To be clear, it's not a cookie problem. The web link "works" in that I can see more of the article but it still cuts off partway through. I assumed that they are providing a partial article for Google to index.

ce4 7y ago

Bypass Paywalls for Firefox works for me, not sure why it's not in the official Mozilla addon repository though, you may want to inspect the code before using it: https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-firefox/blob/master/README.md https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-firefox/blob/m... Edit: reading the code is interesting on it's own, to see what each of the sites need to work (set user agent to Googlebot, referer to coming from facebook, etc.)

iudqnolq 7y ago
It used to be, and was removed in a big purge of add-ons that help you infringe copyright. Thankfully, Mozilla's open model means anyone can still install it, their security model means the extension can only access a fixed list of sites it bypassess paywals on, and Mozilla's security UI communicates effectively when you click install on Github that this extension hasn't been reviewed but is limited in what it can do.
- ce4 7y ago
  Thanks for the Information, apparently it was discussed a year ago already, had missed that. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18567578 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18567578
  - iudqnolq 7y ago
    Me too :) In that thread they talk not being able to install unsigned extensions in stock latest Firefox. That hasn't been the case for me. It might be because I'm on Linux, but I'm pretty sure that policy changed. Overall, I have a lot of sympathy for Mozilla deciding not to spend their resources defending defeating paywalls.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

obituary_latte 7y ago

Unfortunately, it seems this is an issue that won’t be fixed. Despite it being an issue for many users, talking about it typically just leads to downvotes even if the comment is productive in that it proposes solutions. It would be simple to fix either by allowing users to blacklist paywalled urls or creating an auto-outline bot or something but for whatever reason it doesn’t seem to be worthy of addressing despite the fact that invariably there are people that have issues with it as evidenced by comments like this one in pretty much every paywalled submission. It’s a shame, really, because it likely prevents a lot of good discussion that would take place if everyone could read the linked content.

gberger 7y ago

Wouldn't that constitute copyright infringiment?

baddox 7y ago
I’m not sure, but posting a URL that doesn’t serve any useful content to a public news aggregator leads to a pretty terrible user experience. I don’t distinguish between different types of URLs that serve nothing but a solicitation for payment: to me, a pay walled news site is no different than any other spam site that appears to promise content but really just asks for money. I would like to see news aggregators (and similar services, like search engines) enact policies explicitly banning such URLs, simply because it’s a terrible user experience.

vasco 7y ago

I flag all articles that are paywalled, maybe you should too.