There is a new trend among websites where they want my email address before I’m allowed to read their free content. While I sympathize with the struggles of the media business, I am just going to point out something obvious: not reading is easier than reading — and way easier than logging in.

Every time a site pops one of these sign-up forms in my face two seconds after I start reading, I just close the page and never come back. This tactic is obnoxious. I bet there’s fewer people who sign up through these forms than there are like me, who simply close the browser window/tab and never bother to return.