I frustrate when I clicked to a title or entry and when I go to the tab I see that I need to pay for a subscription to see the content. I think this creates a great struggle in an open community like HN.
The domain is visible next to the submission. Tags like [video] and [pdf] are useful when it isn't completely obvious but the WSJ domain is already strong enough of an indication to check the comments for alternatives imho if that's something you need.
Can I make a feature request to have the non paywalled version as a separate link next to the post? Seems like there are a fair number of sites that this could be generated for automatically(wsj etc.)
Because some valuable content may cost money to access. FWIW, at least many/most U.S. library systems let you access such paywalled content for free, so I recommend getting yourself a library card if you're in the U.S. :).
By presenting a barrier to entry for accessing the content, the volume of discussion is reduced since a smaller portion of the community can get to it. This is particularly undesirable when a free alternative may exist.
The quality of the discussion may also reduce, as the non-subscribers can only respond to commenters without benefit of context of the original material.
Should enough of these posts exist, the effects could impact the community at-large; resulting in a decrease in diversity of opinion, and the popularity and relevance of HN as a site. This, in turn, could give rise to, or cause a traffic shift towards, more open competitors.
> I frustrate when I clicked to a title or entry and when I go to the tab I see that I need to pay for a subscription to see the content. I think this creates a great struggle in an open community like HN.
Don't have an answer for why but usually when I find a paywall, I paste the link on either archive.org or archive.is and find the article without paywall. archive.org often works better.
[+] [-] bristleworm|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tastroder|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tomhoward|6 years ago|reply
If it's on the front page of HN, it's a signal that the article can be accessed by anyone.
It may need a workaround, which someone will post in the comments.
If no workaround exists (e.g. using http://archive.is/ or https://outline.com/), the article should be flagged and removed from the front page.
The FAQ covers this:
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html
[+] [-] milkers|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tomhoward|6 years ago|reply
It is answered in the FAQ [1] and re-iterated frequently by dang.
Paywalled pages are OK if a bypass is available. If there is one, usually someone will post it in the comments.
If nobody has yet, you could try viewing the article in http://archive.is/ or https://outline.com/, and if it works, share the link here.
If no paywall bypass is available, the item should not be on HN, so you should flag it.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html
[+] [-] omosubi|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] italiano|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] LUmBULtERA|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gtirloni|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] trilinearnz|6 years ago|reply
The quality of the discussion may also reduce, as the non-subscribers can only respond to commenters without benefit of context of the original material.
Should enough of these posts exist, the effects could impact the community at-large; resulting in a decrease in diversity of opinion, and the popularity and relevance of HN as a site. This, in turn, could give rise to, or cause a traffic shift towards, more open competitors.
[+] [-] psv1|6 years ago|reply
> I frustrate when I clicked to a title or entry and when I go to the tab I see that I need to pay for a subscription to see the content. I think this creates a great struggle in an open community like HN.
[+] [-] busymom0|6 years ago|reply