{"id":108001,"date":"2025-12-27T05:09:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2025\/12\/27\/techdirt-doesnt-annoy-you-into-paying-and-thats-worth-paying-for\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T05:10:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:10:23","slug":"techdirt-doesnt-annoy-you-into-paying-and-thats-worth-paying-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2025\/12\/27\/techdirt-doesnt-annoy-you-into-paying-and-thats-worth-paying-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Techdirt Doesn\u2019t Annoy You Into Paying, And That\u2019s Worth Paying For"},"content":{"rendered":"

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from the support-techdirt-and-feel-good-about-it<\/i> dept<\/h3>\n

We\u2019re a couple of weeks into our end of year crowdfunding campaign<\/a>\u2014donate $100 or more<\/a> (take a look at that $230 possibility!) and we\u2019ll ship you our first commemorative problem coin celebrating 30 years of Part 230. I\u2019ve already laid out why our coverage matters<\/a>, why we\u2019re not selling out<\/a> (as a result of we\u2019re not like Bari Weiss), and why we\u2019re one of the only sites getting Section 230 right<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However right here\u2019s the actual motive to assist Techdirt: we\u2019re one of many uncommon remaining web sites on the web that doesn\u2019t consider in annoying individuals as a enterprise mannequin.<\/p>\n

the drill. You open a information article. There\u2019s a banner advert on the high that gained\u2019t scroll away. One other on the backside, additionally caught. A skyscraper advert bisecting the textual content. You attempt to scroll previous it and by chance click on, launching some rubbish in a brand new tab. Or worse: the article itself is freely readable, however solely after you\u2019ve dismissed three completely different popups begging you to subscribe, register, or flip off your advert blocker.<\/p>\n

Otherwise you get six paragraphs in\u2014simply sufficient to get invested\u2014and hit this:<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n

Bait and swap. Each time.<\/p>\n

Techdirt does none of that. You possibly can learn the positioning without spending a dime. You may as well get the complete textual content of all our posts via RSS<\/a> or in your e-mail with our newsletter<\/a>. You don\u2019t must pay or register. Hell, you don\u2019t even must register to remark. We don\u2019t cowl the web page in advertisements. We don\u2019t pop up annoying reminders. You possibly can share our content material freely, protected from anybody saying \u201cpaywall, can\u2019t learn\u201d in response. <\/p>\n

When websites try this, it appears like the primary stage of Cory Doctorow\u2019s \u201censhittification\u201d curve, the place a web site begins to determine methods to annoy customers<\/em> to extract worth from them by making them pay to keep away from the annoyance. It\u2019s intentionally lowering the worth within the hopes you\u2019ll pay to do away with the annoyance.<\/p>\n

And whereas the \u201cpaid e-newsletter\u201d Substack-style setup is an enchanting enterprise mannequin, once I\u2019ve requested supporters of Techdirt how they’d really feel if we provided one thing related, the response was virtually unanimous: individuals love studying Techdirt partially to share what\u2019s right here, they usually\u2019d get irritated in the event that they felt they couldn\u2019t share our tales any extra.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d reasonably individuals pay right here not as a result of we\u2019ve irritated them into supporting us, however as a result of they really feel they get real worth from what we do right here and wish to allow way more of that.<\/p>\n

And, with a purpose to maintain offering worth we do need your support<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However that is about extra than simply maintaining Techdirt working. It\u2019s about proving {that a} completely different mannequin can work\u2014you can run a information web site by treating readers like individuals you respect, not assets to be mined<\/strong>. Right here\u2019s our work, we predict it\u2019s beneficial, and when you agree, assist it.<\/p>\n

Each different mannequin on the web proper now assumes you might want to annoy individuals into paying. Frustrate them with paywalls. Interrupt them with popups. Make the expertise simply dangerous sufficient that they\u2019ll hand over cash to make it cease. That\u2019s not a relationship. That\u2019s a hostage negotiation.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re betting that when you get worth from what we do, you\u2019ll assist it since you need extra of it\u2014not as a result of we\u2019ve made it not possible to learn in any other case.<\/p>\n

Should you suppose that mannequin deserves to exist, back it<\/a>. As a result of if this works, it proves one thing: you can construct a sustainable information web site by trusting your viewers, not by annoying them into submission.<\/p>\n

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\tFiled Underneath: business models<\/a>, coin<\/a>, fundraiser<\/a>, journalism<\/a>
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