Anyway. I think the reason it doesn't work as a business model is that really, honestly, reading the paper provides very little in terms of value to the average person. It's a very mild source of entertainment and nothing more. It used to be that the newspapers where the only media to get important information (classifieds, job ads...etc). Not any more.
Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
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Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#12Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#13That is a nice and lovely idea... Only every government everywhere hates it. If it is possible to pay for something anonymously, then there is no following the money of others paying anonymously for other reasons. Including paying for products or services that are illegal or even with money from such sales. Yes, you might compare this to cash. Cash that everyone used to carry around. It the higher denominations are m…
Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#14I don't actually mind tracking as part of a useful service (like Google Maps). I block ads because they're 1) annoying 2) funding mass media.
Depriving Bezos' WaPo or Slim's NYT of revenue is definitely a feature. If billionaires want to push propaganda, the least they can do is foot the bill.
Tracking is a distant third. If an outlet I cared about ran ads, I'd white-list them. It just so happens that valuable sites like HN or developers' blogs either don't feature ads or do so in a way that adblockers don't interfere with (look at job posts here).
Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#15Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#16I find it interesting that this article is published on a platform that makes uBlock block 27 requests and most certainly does contain non-free javascript. Richard Stallman talks a lot about how these thing inhibit freedom and that we should not support those companies. But when he publishes an article on ad blocking he does this on a platform that absolutely does not meet his standard on freedom.
Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#17I find it interesting that this article is published on a platform that makes uBlock block 27 requests and most certainly does contain non-free javascript. Richard Stallman talks a lot about how these thing inhibit freedom and that we should not support those companies. But when he publishes an article on ad blocking he does this on a platform that absolutely does not meet his standard on freedom.
This is not an article on ad blocking.
It's an article on the need to be able to pay for things anonymously - to avoid being tracked.
Like how cash works in the real world.
I can highly recommend reading the actual article.
Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#18Is this really the reason people block ads? I don't actually mind tracking as part of a useful service (like Google Maps). I block ads because they're 1) annoying 2) funding mass media. Depriving Bezos' WaPo or Slim's NYT of revenue is definitely a feature. If billionaires want to push propaganda, the least they can do is foot the bill. Tracking is a distant third. If an outlet I cared about ran ads, I'd white-list t…
I am not accusing the OP of any bias or failing in ideals, just pointing out an interesting perspective on things that I got from reading [0]. 'Mistrust of government is pretty much universal, and that’s a good thing. Outside of the United States, however, people trust corporations even less.'
[0]http://www.disruptingjapan.com/how-ubers-failure-in-japan-ca...
Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#19That is a nice and lovely idea... Only every government everywhere hates it. If it is possible to pay for something anonymously, then there is no following the money of others paying anonymously for other reasons. Including paying for products or services that are illegal or even with money from such sales. Yes, you might compare this to cash. Cash that everyone used to carry around. It the higher denominations are m…
Re: Richard Stallman: Online Publishers Should Let Readers Pay Anonymously
#20Is this really the reason people block ads? I don't actually mind tracking as part of a useful service (like Google Maps). I block ads because they're 1) annoying 2) funding mass media. Depriving Bezos' WaPo or Slim's NYT of revenue is definitely a feature. If billionaires want to push propaganda, the least they can do is foot the bill. Tracking is a distant third. If an outlet I cared about ran ads, I'd white-list t…
Reading it implies it has some value.