Paywall and me
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Some people think that corporations which develop software are corrupt barons, so by that same logic, programmers should also work for free.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Amen to that. I see stories about, for instance, preventing Windows Store apps from showing ads and it angers me. If I create an app that's ad-supported and someone prevents the ads from showing, they're essentially stealing my work. The same is true of blocking ads on websites as far as I'm concerned. Working around the (pathetic, in this case) technological measures to create a paywall is also no different. I'm not saying that I pay for sites like that; however, I also don't try to get their paid content for free. If I'm not allowed to read a story without paying for it, I'll survive without reading it, or I'll go ahead and pay. And before anyone takes me to task for calling it stealing, don't bother. I know that the technical term is copyright infringement. But when my work is used and I'm not compensated for it in the way that I've specified, you've stolen from me. Whether it's the ad revenue that you prevented me from getting or the license fee that you didn't pay, that's money that I didn't get while you benefitted from my work -- that looks like theft to me.
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And heaven shall reward you for your generosity. :-D I do realize that my views on intellectual property are out of step with the masses, but I've been paid to create stuff all my life - music, software, books, etc. If I expect to be paid, how can I take from others without paying?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
If I expect to be paid, how can I take from others without paying?
Amen again. That's been my feeling for a number of years now.
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So don't use their service. Or install AdBlock. Taking the service and deliberately not paying for it has a name.
The universe is composed of electrons, neutrons, protons and......morons. (ThePhantomUpvoter)
OriginalGriff wrote:
Or install AdBlock.
This is the same thing as cheating their paywall.
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Amen to that. I see stories about, for instance, preventing Windows Store apps from showing ads and it angers me. If I create an app that's ad-supported and someone prevents the ads from showing, they're essentially stealing my work. The same is true of blocking ads on websites as far as I'm concerned. Working around the (pathetic, in this case) technological measures to create a paywall is also no different. I'm not saying that I pay for sites like that; however, I also don't try to get their paid content for free. If I'm not allowed to read a story without paying for it, I'll survive without reading it, or I'll go ahead and pay. And before anyone takes me to task for calling it stealing, don't bother. I know that the technical term is copyright infringement. But when my work is used and I'm not compensated for it in the way that I've specified, you've stolen from me. Whether it's the ad revenue that you prevented me from getting or the license fee that you didn't pay, that's money that I didn't get while you benefitted from my work -- that looks like theft to me.
Marc A. Brown wrote:
The same is true of blocking ads on websites as far as I'm concerned.
Presumably that means you always watch every advert shown on the TV? You never, for example, take the chance to go to the toilet, get yourself a drink, or talk to other people? If you so much as look away from the screen for a single second during the ad-break, you're stealing from the TV networks.
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer
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Marc A. Brown wrote:
The same is true of blocking ads on websites as far as I'm concerned.
Presumably that means you always watch every advert shown on the TV? You never, for example, take the chance to go to the toilet, get yourself a drink, or talk to other people? If you so much as look away from the screen for a single second during the ad-break, you're stealing from the TV networks.
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer
Actually, I almost never watch TV. Besides, I'm not preventing those ads from being displayed, so the company showing the program gets paid. If you block website ads, you're preventing the site owner from being paid, unless I misunderstand how they work.
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Amen to that. I see stories about, for instance, preventing Windows Store apps from showing ads and it angers me. If I create an app that's ad-supported and someone prevents the ads from showing, they're essentially stealing my work. The same is true of blocking ads on websites as far as I'm concerned. Working around the (pathetic, in this case) technological measures to create a paywall is also no different. I'm not saying that I pay for sites like that; however, I also don't try to get their paid content for free. If I'm not allowed to read a story without paying for it, I'll survive without reading it, or I'll go ahead and pay. And before anyone takes me to task for calling it stealing, don't bother. I know that the technical term is copyright infringement. But when my work is used and I'm not compensated for it in the way that I've specified, you've stolen from me. Whether it's the ad revenue that you prevented me from getting or the license fee that you didn't pay, that's money that I didn't get while you benefitted from my work -- that looks like theft to me.
Nope, the technical term for taking something that doesn't belong to you (which doesn't apply if it's expressly offered for free) is, in fact, stealing. All the pretzel logic you hear from folks to the contrary is just human nature. People know when what they're doing is wrong. For those with a conscience, that knowledge makes them feel bad about themselves. Trying to logic their way out of it is an attempt to avoid those bad feelings. The dedicated, professional, career thief knows he's a thief and has no problem with it. To their credit, those who try to convince themselves that they're not stealing prove, at the very least, that they do in fact still have a conscience. Otherwise they wouldn't care about calling it what it really is.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
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So I have hit the monthly limit on The Daily Telegraph. (20 articles for free then you have to pay £2 pm to continue to read). Hmmm, I do not want to pay so I go to my list of cookies, delete the three marked "Daily Telegraph" and return to the web page. Et Voilà...I can read them again. All I need to do is delete their cookies each morning and I get no paywall issues. Either they assume that the average DT Reader is incapable of sussing how to beat the paywall or they are operating on the honour system. (Given the average DT Reader's age I assume the former).
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
Cookies are a silly way of tracking this sort of thing. I have my browser set to only keep cookies for the session. Everything gets nuked when I close my browser, ergo, their 20 article tracking mechanism would never kick in for me, and I'm not even trying to "hack" the system. It's just a browser setting. :/
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Nope, the technical term for taking something that doesn't belong to you (which doesn't apply if it's expressly offered for free) is, in fact, stealing. All the pretzel logic you hear from folks to the contrary is just human nature. People know when what they're doing is wrong. For those with a conscience, that knowledge makes them feel bad about themselves. Trying to logic their way out of it is an attempt to avoid those bad feelings. The dedicated, professional, career thief knows he's a thief and has no problem with it. To their credit, those who try to convince themselves that they're not stealing prove, at the very least, that they do in fact still have a conscience. Otherwise they wouldn't care about calling it what it really is.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer Enjoy comedy? Watch Talking Head Games (SFW)
Well said.
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I have honour. I honour my friends and and my family. I honour my obligations. I honour the Brave and the Fallen. I do not Honour the corrupt press barons or those with a vested interest in controlling the truth.
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
X| Now I have some sort of an idea what your millionth lounge post was like. Where is the puking emoticon when one needs it most? X|
"I had the right to remain silent, but I didn't have the ability!"
Ron White, Comedian
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X| Now I have some sort of an idea what your millionth lounge post was like. Where is the puking emoticon when one needs it most? X|
"I had the right to remain silent, but I didn't have the ability!"
Ron White, Comedian
Have a Bazinga from me.
I was brought up to respect my elders. I don't respect many people nowadays.
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