I wouldn't hold Wikipedia as a good counterexample. They frequently run ads, annoying ones too, only nobody thinks of them that way because they are usually beg

I wouldn't hold Wikipedia as a good counterexample. They frequently run ads, annoying ones too, only nobody thinks of them that way because they are usually begging for donations. Additionally, Wikipedia is not in any way "long tail". How many websites do you think can survive on a donation model? Also book authors: Their main business is not the website. In fact the website is a giant advertisement for their actual main business, which is books. This discussion is clearly about websites whose main business is producing online content. How many online content sites do you know that run on alternative monetization methods like donations? Now how many sites do you know that run on ads? You'll find numbers will not support your view.