A new OJR article (and relevant snippy Metafilter thread) discusses the rising number of media Web sites forcing users to register before they can read articles.
I have no problems with this policy, but I do think it’s less than ideal. While I’ve been happily registered on nytimes.com for years and years, I grumbled recently when I hit barriers on latimes.com and chicagotribune.com, and I have yet to sign up for either. The necessity must exist before a user is compelled to sign up, and that is not always the case; witness my reluctance to give my data to Web sites I only visit occasionally.
The scheme certainly does work in the long run: Witness the New York Times’ successful revenue streams and its 10-million-strong userbase. But what happened to the ol’ try before I buy (or, more appropriately, before I reveal)?