Even as more people are willing to pay for their favorite websites, no one can be expected to shell out in response to the dozens or even hundreds of paywalls they encounter over the course of a year. The problem is that readers are getting cut off from more and more of the web. And that in turn has provided a revenue stream that directly funds quality journalism. After years of giving away valuable content for free-and later hoping Facebook or Google would share a few crumbs in advertising dollars-web publishers finally gained the confidence to ask readers to pay for their labor. Thankfully, the transition is reasonable: In practical terms, this means it’s become harder to read about everything from major news events to a sports columnist’s clever take on last night’s game. You might be able to peer into a few store windows, or even be allowed to take a quick stroll, but it won’t be long until someone asks you to identify yourself and buy a monthly pass to stick around.
Today, the web is more like a crowded city with checkpoints on every block. A lot of the content was crap-and still is-but the point is that it was open to all to see. You could return again and again to the digital version of your favorite stalls or explore what any random site had to offer. It wasn’t so long ago that the web was like a giant bazaar. Writing at something called Fortune Crypto, Jeff John Roberts urges, “ Paywalls are here to stay, but they’re closing off the internet.
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