About Paywalls

A mini-rant of sorts

Many things I read on other “platforms” beg for comment – either because the scribbler is suffering one of many different (X) Derangement Syndromes or has a skewed perspective warping the efficacy the “conclusions”. Then, when one goes to the Comments section to participate in the subsequent discussion, you’re hit with “Only PAID Subscribers may Comment. Upgrade to PAID here”.

Well! A couple thoughts on that:

Marketing Extortion: Pay to Play or get lost. How constructive is that? “Keeps the Crazies out. Duh.” Isn’t that assuming no one would be crazy enough to Subscribe, post his “craziness”, then cancel and get a pro-rata Refund? Or challenge the credit card charge and make the Owner deal with that hassle? Brilliant.

Firstly, BWW has never had a Paywall. For anything. Sharing information, perspectives, personal insights, experiences are Features, not bugs. Subscriptions are free; paying is voluntary and appreciated. Personally, I’d welcome the Crazies – altho in 3+ years of Substack scribbling, none have invaded my hallowed Comments space. Yay, Me! And readers who might be pissed off at the nonsensical ravings of a lunatic mind. But even those can be instructive: They Walk Among Us.

So, If you can’t be a good example, you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.

Secondly, isn’t building a Paywall or requiring a Paid Subscription to comment, saying to your Reader: “If you don’t agree with me, I don’t want you posting on my site. I only want to hear from dedicated Sycophants who never contradict me. Join the Choir of get outta my Temple”?

OK – so you’ve gotten really, really popular: 2,3, 5,000 read your posts. “If I permit access to the Crazies, the Normies will get crowded out, not Comment anymore, maybe even Unsubscribe!” I get it. Being you’re the Writer, Art Director, Head of Research, Public Relations, Correspondent, Admin and Chief Bottle Washer is time consuming and should come with some financial compensation. Key word: “should”. Some of my favorite Substack scribblers work their magic Full Time. Subscribers and donations are their sole source of income. For all they add to inspire the brain and add content to the public conversation, I gladly pay their very reasonable subscription rates. But even if I didn’t, I’d still get to Comment.

And if controlling the Crazies is that important, the Delete key works wonders.

There are boatloads of Counselors, Advisers, On-Line Gurus who will advise any web site practitioner how to monetize their presence. For a fee, of course. Capitalism provides the opportunity to create one’s own reward. Fortunately, it also leaves supporting Substack Scribblers your decision, just as charging a Fee to post your comments. Here, In the interest of “…starting brushfires in the minds of men”, charging for the “matches” seems counterproductive.

BW