Everybody these days thinks you need a password to visit their website, even if the content is free. A few years after the New York Times initiated its “registration” process, it’s becoming difficult to find news providers who do not require you to first submit a user name and password. Everyone from the Washington Post to the Kingsport Times-News now forces you to login before you can read their content.
This isn’t so much of a problem for sites visited frequently, as cookies usually save the login information. If you ever clear out your cookies, you’re in trouble unless you’ve saved the login information with your browser. Even then, if you update or switch browsers (or work on multiple computers), you’re up the creek.
All this passing around of passwords is done for the benefit of advertising, right? The marketing people want to get to know their audience a little better so they ask of them a few questions so they can better advertise.
While big-time papers like the Times and Post can get away with this—I visit them regularly enough to fill out the registration and leave the cookies—I’m not sure if this is beneficial to smaller new agencies like the Kingsport Times-News or WHAS11.com. Most of the time I’ll just pass on reading one of their stories rather than figure out which of my “regular” passwords I used for this site. The marketer will get to know his audience really well whose audience never shows up.
All this to say that I will not be requiring a username and password to access TruePravda. I know you were worried, but rest at ease.
Try BugMeNot!
I hope that hyperlink works!
It didn’t work. Here it is without all the stuff:
http://bugmenot.com/