It seems to me that most newspapers require you to sign-up before you can read the articles. But the sign-up is free. So what is the point? Why require so much extra work on all parties just to make it difficult for people to get to the news? I already subscribe to the local paper, but if I want to find an article, it is much easier to search on-line using the web-site of the newspaper. But then I cannot read the article because it requires me to sign-up or login. I don't get it.

 

i think bugmenot extension for firefox gets rid of that.

 

http://www.bugmenot.com/

 

I appreciate the pointers to bypass the required registration. But it still does not explain why these newspaper sites require registration in the first place. I mean it makes more work for everyone, and I just cannot understand why. And of course, they should know by now that everyone is bypassing their registration system anyway. So why not just do away with the required registration and make life simple for everyone.

 

They add a cookie when you sign in. If you have not removed the cookie you do not have to sign in again. Just keeping track of what you are doing.

 

They use the info to track who comes to their site, so they can sell ads on their pages and design the site accordingly.

 

registration gives them an idea of how many people use their online service. if only two or three people felt like registering to see an online newspaper, they wouldn't bother.