how the failing newspaper industry shot itself in the foot..

[jamese1045]

Forget the comics? FORGET THE COMICS???
What are you, some kind of neanderthal?
There's no other reason to buy the paper any more. And it's also why I never bother with the NYT. If you ain't got comics, you ain't worth bothering with!

Right on!

[guru]

An interesting column on this in today's NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/busin ... 3carr.html

Faced with an ad market that no longer supplies enough revenue to meet costs, many newspapers are now considering putting up pay walls on their Web sites, long an anathema in Internet culture. Consumers used to roaming freely across the Web in search of news and opinion may soon find themselves being asked to register at news sites and, in some cases, to fork over a credit card number.

Well, today Gannett rolled out their online subscription structure for all their newspapers - except USA Today - which included my local Cincinnati Enquirer. In short, non-subscribers get 20 article views a month before they're shut out.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2012 ... ur-readers

Of course, I had my plan - use a VPN that issues a new IP addy every time you log in. Except that didn't work. I couldn't figure out why, until it hit me. No, it couldn't be so simple as a cookie, could it? A cookie that, when dumped, would reset the counter?

Yep...

[Daisy]

So the obvious next step will be no complimentary editorials and op-eds etc.

[guru]

It's laughable really. I use Chrome for my browser, and all I have to do is browse the Enquirer website in Incognito mode, and when I close the window it automatically dumps all cookies I've picked up for that session. Voila! Next visit to the newspapers website my counter is back at zero page views. Did they not think people would figure out it was a cookie?

[tandfman]

Did they not think people would figure out it was a cookie?

And do you think that they won't figure out that people are figuring it out and then figure out a way to stop people from doing what you're doing?

[j-a-m]

In short, non-subscribers get 20 article views a month before they're shut out.

That specific business model is bound to fail. Either they count it in a way that's easy to get around, as it seems to be the case here; or they make it more difficult to get around, in which case it raises more privacy concerns.

Instead, they could easily separate content between subcriber and non-subscriber; or they could generally show non-subscribers the first couple paragraphs, and subscribers the whole article.

[j-a-m]

And do you think that they won't figure out that people are figuring it out and then figure out a way to stop people from doing what you're doing?

They could use more sophisticated cookies, could log your IP address, or do something similar. One way or the other, it would raise additional privacy concerns.

[guru]

And do you think that they won't figure out that people are figuring it out and then figure out a way to stop people from doing what you're doing?

They could use more sophisticated cookies, could log your IP address, or do something similar. One way or the other, it would raise additional privacy concerns.

Any cookie can be dumped, and an IP logger(which I too thought they would use) is easily beaten by a VPN like Hotspot Shield

[j-a-m]

Any cookie can be dumped, and an IP logger(which I too thought they would use) is easily beaten by a VPN like Hotspot Shield

So let's say a store in your hometown puts a tracking device into your pocket every time you enter the store, and they also write down your licence plate number.

You fine with that? After all, you could easily take the tracking device out of your pocket and dump it, and you could walk there instead of using your car.

[guru]

99.9% of websites do one or both of those things anyway(unless blocked)

[Marlow]

Well, today Gannett rolled out their online subscription structure for all their newspapers - except USA Today

I only have the on-line USA Today subscription. I'm dumping my print SI and Time subs for the iPad the school just gave us all. T&FN MUST stay as print or how else can I prove my über-geekdom, by showing off my yards and yards of T&F-related bookshelf material?

[guru]

Well, today Gannett rolled out their online subscription structure for all their newspapers - except USA Today

I only have the on-line USA Today subscription.

That's fine, but my pojnt was for whatever reason Gannett is not using the(laughable) non-subscriber page view limiter cookie with USA Today

[Conor Dary]

People actually read USA Today every day? The only time I look at it is when it is outside the door on the floor in the morning at a hotel.

And I have never been to their web site so anyone is welcome to my 20 visits.

[Marlow]

Well, today Gannett rolled out their online subscription structure for all their newspapers - except USA Today

I only have the on-line USA Today subscription.

That's fine, but my pojnt was for whatever reason Gannett is not using the(laughable) non-subscriber page view limiter cookie with USA Today

Oh, your Digital IQ (acronym: DIQ ) is waaaay higher than mine!!!

[Marlow]

People actually read USA Today every day? The only time I look at it is when it is outside the door on the floor in the morning at a hotel.

I value Cultural (sic) Literacy (it's actually a requisite of my job) and USAT covers that better and more succinctly than anyone else. Time is a close second.

[Conor Dary]

People actually read USA Today every day? The only time I look at it is when it is outside the door on the floor in the morning at a hotel.

I value Cultural (sic) Literacy (it's actually a requisite of my job) and USAT covers that better and more succinctly than anyone else. Time is a close second.

No one does succinctly better than USAToday. That is why I can read the whole paper in about 10 minutes.

[Marlow]

No one does succinctly better than USAToday. That is why I can read the whole paper in about 10 minutes.

Indeed. My ADD demands it.

[Halfmiler2]

USA today used to be the perfect quick read for a 20-minute bus ride to work - and they used to have good track & field coverage while Dick Patrick was around.

[Anthony Treacher]

I live in Sweden. I have a very advantageous, efficient airmail subscription to the American Time magazine. I am really satisfied, yet .... sometimes I feel like cancelling the whole thing. And why? Because Time sometimes use small typefaces in hard to read colours, often small, pastel colours, even light grey, which is impossible to read. One day I will be so irritated I will cancel for sure. If the industry is in crisis, why do they persist with these easily addressable mistakes at the risk of losing faithful customers?

[Daisy]

Because Time sometimes use small typefaces in hard to read colours, often small, pastel colours, even light grey, which is impossible to read.

Tony, you're just too fussy. One reason they may do it is that is they have nothing to say and hope they can hide the fact?

[Anthony Treacher]

Daisy. You made my day! How long can we continue to meet in this way?

[lonewolf]

My aging eyes have the same problem with Time and a number of other magazines..Artsy, teensy, light colored font on dark background (or dark opn dark)is especially difficult to read.. I either have to find my magnifying glass or give up..

[Marlow]

My aging eyes have the same problem with Time and a number of other magazines..Artsy, teensy, light colored font on dark background (or dark opn dark)is especially difficult to read.. I either have to find my magnifying glass or give up..

What a whiney-butt you are!

[Daisy]

What a whiney-butt you are!

He has a magnifying glass, you know?

[lonewolf]

Well, when a life is as perfect as mine, I need something to whine about.

[Marlow]

Well, when a life is as perfect as mine, I need something to whine about.

Ok, ya got me there!