• zephorah@lemm.ee
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    8 hours ago

    How is that a boomer complaint? It’s basic. Microsoft Word should be buy once for 3 computers, as it always was until subs took over.

    We can’t even read the news anymore without a sub.

    I like the use of the word rent for this.

    • taladar@sh.itjust.works
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      5 hours ago

      I think it depends on the type of software. Subscriptions do make sense for software that requires regular updates, e.g. something tax related, where you need it updated with the latest regulations every year. Basically for anything that won’t be useful a year from the purchase date without feature updates.

      • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
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        7 hours ago

        Nah, absolutely not. Putting a profit incentive on the news is how we end up with how the news currently is - reaction-bait with the sole purpose of driving engagement and views to generate ad revenue, instead of actual, unbiased, honest journalism.

        • RowRowRowYourBot@sh.itjust.works
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          6 hours ago

          Not paying for the news is quite literally how we have found ourselves in this situation. When more were paying for the news they were less dependent on ad dollars and more on subscribers. The shift towards free news with the popularization of the web is what created our problem.

          • taladar@sh.itjust.works
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            5 hours ago

            I wouldn’t say it was just that. News also got worse on e.g. government supported TV channels in countries that have them. Part of the problem is the regurgitation of social media on the news and also news organizations being afraid of social media backlash. Another part is politicians not giving interviews to organizations that ask them hard questions, that one was probably better in the past because there were more limited numbers of news sources.

        • SaltSong@startrek.website
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          7 hours ago

          Do you think the news just appears on webpages for us to consume?

          Particularly in the case of investigative journalism, there is a skill involved in writing the stories, and it consumes the time and effort of many people.

          Charging money for your work is not “gatekeeping.” It’s how you keep eating.