NTDWL: WORST IDEA EVER

Sorry, this has nothing to do with Louisville, and I apologize for the hyperbole.  Something about this weather and Haiti and the MA Senate loss and this weather and just January in general has made me feel like a teenager all of a sudden.  I feel like curling up in my bed and sobbing my eyes out because "nobody likes me" and "it's all so unfair" and "you just don't understand."

I know? Right? 

Ugh.  

But this headline actually made me swear out loud-- and LOUD-- "New York Times to Charge for Articles Online."

To quote my inner angsty teen: "OMG. OMG. OMG. Are you serious??"

Why do I have such a strong gut reaction to this WORST IDEA EVER?  Because back in 2005, I swore I would never, ever read the New York Times again.  Because 2005 was the dark days of the failed "Times Select" experiment where you could read a select few articles online but had to have a paid subscription to read more.  And 2005 was Katrina.  And I was starved for information.  And 95% of their Katrina coverage was behind the "Times Select" wall.  And I didn't have any money because, well, I was evacuated and living in limbo. And I would get so mad, every day, when I checked the NYT and find that all the best information was pay-per-view.

And I didn't read the NYT again until I moved to Louisville and found out just how bad the Courier-Journal was. (And by that time, "Times Select" was over.)

And I do think I am prepared to say that I will indeed boycott the NYT again if they do this.  The article says they won't start til 2011, so we have 11 months to hope that they realize that this is the WORST IDEA EVER,.