Comment by minimaxir
10 years ago
> paywalls that leave ways for readers to work around them
I would call pasting-the-URL-into-Google-Search less of a intentional workaround and more of a trick to take advantage of the websites' compliance with Google rules.
Not every HN reader would know to do that, or look in the comments for that "workaround."
> Not every HN reader would know to do that.
That's right, so it's ok for people to ask and share how to read an article in the comments. There shouldn't need to be more than one or two comments about this, and it helps everyone focus on the content.
What's off-topic is the generic tangent of paywall complaining.
So all I need to do is read every comment, then I can try to find out how to read the article?
If an article is from a brand-new source that uses a kind of paywall you've never encountered before, then hopefully someone will comment with a workaround. If not, you can ask. Maybe you could even subscribe to publications you like, read regularly, and want to support.
Since almost all paywalled articles are from the WSJ, the Economist, or the NYT, this shouldn't happen to you very often.
Eventually you learn these things, from living life (including reading HN for awhile). And if you can't read an article because there's no workaround, or because you don't know of a workaround:
- Just don't read the article.
- Subscribe. If you can't/won't afford it, then see above, or see below.
- Search for other sources of the information. And post them, it adds to the discussion. Most articles worth taking up space, particularly on paywalled sites, are worth that space in other venues. Almost nothing is exclusive, not after a day anyway.
In the WSJ case, I've noticed that yahoo often prints the article verbatim.
1 reply →
That's one option. You can also google the title or URL of the article (this is the most common workaround); or you can search the comments for the word 'paywall'; or you can purchase a membership or subscription for the paywalled site; or you can skip reading the article.
7 replies →
I don't agree with the moderation decision, but given what this site is 'supposed' to be I suggest you step up your game.
In practice, this is memoized per site. Few HN readers don't know to open incognito windows for NYT pieces.
2 replies →
If these paywall sites are being officially supported, why not reroute users directly to the google search for these articles?
I've thought about trying to solve this problem with software, but it feels like a line we probably shouldn't cross. Hence the current answer: it's fine for users to help each other read articles. That seems unimpeachable, whereas having HN officially undermine paywalls seems like a Schrödinger can of worms if not a classical one.
2 replies →
That sounds like it would be a worse experience for readers who are paying subscribers of the article's source.
Because it doesn’t work everywhere.