Comments on: Adventures with paywalls, FT edition

By: Nosoymexicano

Nosoymexicano — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:08:46 +0000

I just cancelled my subscription to the FT out of disgust. They dropped the print edition in Texas and equivocated about access to FT.Com. I was using it for teaching purposes in a university–marvelous, ideal vehicle–but their pricing structure and dreadful customer service has led me to this. They obviously don’t give a damn how many educated subscribers they lose.

By: subsiteinsider

subsiteinsider — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:10:16 +0000

It is funny – some subscription sites get so concerned with converting free readers to paid that they forget about the user experience once you are a paid subscriber! That is key when it comes to renewal time.

Kathy McCabe
Editor
http://www.subscriptionsiteinsider.com

By: entitledtomy

entitledtomy — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:41:26 +0000

I can’t think of any recent outstanding blog conversation centered on an FT article. Judge Judy’s bailiff encourages more conversations than the FT’s gated links.

After many failed attempts, I won’t try to share links to friends via IM any more. Email the Lex team in confidence, yes, but share a Lex column with diffidence.

The FT has the best financial writing, read by everyone who’s anyone, to be discussed with nobody in earshot of anybody. They should expand the Food & Drink section, as the FT is almost ideal for mute contemplation during chewy meals. It is still a bit too easy for us subscribers to reach an article, sometimes by accidental straining, sometimes by plain bad luck, but I have faith that the FT can solve this.

By: ibidem

ibidem — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:33:16 +0000

I have complained to FT about that several times. Each time it was obvious that the service people I emailed with did not bother to read my complaints.

I am very tempted to end my subscription.

By: frobn

frobn — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:10:23 +0000

If you are not a paid subscriber, or even if you are, you can go directly to the article from a Google search.

By: spectre855

spectre855 — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:01:53 +0000

Two things. First, I was incorrect about the guid being a reference to the user. It’s only an identifier for the article. Apparently, FT’s code simply checks for the existence of the Authorised=false variable first and if that is found, does not even bother to verify your authorization against your login cookie.

Second, @dopplex, notice that the article you’re redirected to is an old article from 2008. I believe this is caused by the spaces in the text version of the URL that Felix copied. You should be redirected to an error page but you get this one instead. If you try the same thing from the direct link above, you will still run into the paywall.

By: dedalus

dedalus — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:43:10 +0000

I also subscribe to the FT & totally agree with Felix’s complaints.

By: dopplex

dopplex — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:21:23 +0000

@spectre855 Additionally, by changing to authorised=true in that URL you can go directly to the article.

By: spectre855

spectre855 — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:14:02 +0000

My guess (fwiw I’m a software developer) is that whomever provided the link to you is a registered user that does not have a paid subscription, hence the authorised=False variable of the URL.

Basically that means that the URL you’re clicking is unique to the particular user that sent it to you. The 2f5b6c70-ccd5-11e0-88fe-00144feabdc0 id is most likely that person’s authentication token. So when you use that URL as opposed to sending a user agnostic URL through the “Send Now” button, the FT website thinks you’re the person that generated the auth token.

The website should, instead, be verifying the auth token of the URL against your authentication cookie (a locally generated file which is saving your correct user name). It’s lazy programming at best and a potential security threat at worst as it may be possible to use that authentication token to hack into other sections (think admin pages) of the website.

By: idaman

idaman — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:50:20 +0000

FT, you putzes, why have and RSS feed service if you can’t link directly from the feed? Doh!

And Felix, ever notice that some articles and opinions that show up in the RSS feed are not available in the iPad html5 edition? Makes we wonder if I’m missing important stuff on a regular basis.

By: TinyTim1

TinyTim1 — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:28:00 +0000

Well – having discovered this, I will never subscribe.
Not worth the hassle. What a farce.

By: Britonomist

Britonomist — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:25:55 +0000

Agreed!!! It’s very frustrating, they really need to sort it out.

By: dellbell

dellbell — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:22:57 +0000

I’m also an FT.com premium subscriber, and have run into precisely the same circle of frustration. I call customer service, putting the speakerphone on, and, hopefully costing them something in terms of 800-charges and the use of their customer service person. It really seems like the program that puts the paywall up isn’t talking to their subscription system computer.