Part of the problem with subscription access to everything is that it effectively sets the price to look at any random article or video regardless of quality/value at about $100. I'm sorry, but unless you have proof of Bigfoot, or UFO's, or something REALLY fucking compelling, most content isn't worth $100 for one click. Like, you could buy a permanent piece of wall art for that. Or a huge new hard drive. Or other similar tangible content-goods. (1/2)
A friend in the UK had built a one-click paywall where it was like $1 a click to get around, but they were just launching right as covid started so I don't know that it really got a whole lot of traction. But god, the subscription-access only internet is really just, it feels vaguely like a walk through a tourist district where every square inch is loud screen printed tees and gaming machines and buskers asking for $5 with a QR code. That has value in limited doses only. (2/2)
@h_thoreson That and the forced migration from a service *you already paid for* to subscriber model. Apps have done this in many, many cases.