UPDATE: It seems I can access the article, but I’ve got to go through Google; it is here. I don’t know what this means, but it’s certainly an indication that the internet doesn’t like walls, fences, or anything similar. (At the top of the page is a small banner that reads: “Archive Article — Please enjoy this article from The Times & The Sunday Times. For full access to our content, please subscribe here.” So, some (most?) content will be duplicated in a public “archive”, perhaps for SEO-related reasons?)
Well, there I was thinking I could read an article about Edward Heath, when I get stopped (somewhat slugglishly — lots of javascript seemed to be in play) by an invitation from The Times to sign up and “preview” their “new sites”. But I didn’t — still don’t — want to preview their site “for a limited period”, or learn about what makes them worthwhile, or become a member; I just wanted — still want — to read the article. I have been fenced out. If I was in the UK, I could go to the library and read the piece. And if the article was in today’s edition of the newspaper, I might even be able to buy a copy. But I’m not in the UK, so neither of those options are viable (and both are silly: I learned about the piece online, so I should be able to read it online). If I want to get through the fence, I must pay.
If I were to pay, what then? Would I subsequently pay for eye-catching, highly recommended articles from The New York Times and The Washington Post, The London Review of Books and The New Yorker? If I wanted to read a selection of, say, 6 – 12 articles (a not unreasonable number) during one 24 hour period, would I need accounts with each and every publication? Or would I “micro” pay, a dollar an article, perhaps? (I’m being deliberately difficult here, but it’s not a stretch.) If I did pay, could I share the link with others, or would they too hit a wall they’d have to pay to get through? It all seems immensely complicated, expensive, and unsatisfying.
The internet allows people to pick and choose from far more sources of content than ever before. This is not news, but it’s worth thinking about what things were like before the internet, RSS feeds, and the myriad delivery systems. We are no longer in a world of just newspapers, radio, and television. You don’t need to choose between The Guardian and The Telegraph: you can have both, in small doses. It’s up to you. You like the Sudoku at The Telegraph? Help yourself. But you think their editorials are a bit, how to say, conservative? No problem: switch tab to The Guardian. Neither of them have good book reviews these days? That’s fine, just head over to The Times Literary Supplement and see what essays they have on offer. This is the internet I know.
I’ve seen my first pay wall (see the image below) and I’m worried: it seems like the internet just got one site smaller; it feels like a step backwards; and what happens next? My students, many of whom frequently find themselves at sites like The Times, will find this sort of stuff limiting. Will they open accounts? Or will they just turn and go somewhere else? Some will try, but most won’t be able to pay, if it comes down to that: no credit cards, no electronic currency. Their curiosity will hopefully lead them to ingenious ways around the problem. But sites asking for money (micro or otherwise) will put off a great many of my students.
Anyway, enough hastily written venting.
“No, you can’t read the article.”