No Linking To Japanese Newspaper Without Permission

stovicek writes with this excerpt from Ars Technica about the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun, or Nikkei (English language site, so far apparently unaffected): "Nikkei has taken efforts to preserve its paywall to absurd new levels: anyone wanting to link to the site must submit a formal application. [...] The New York Times, which reported on the new policy on Thursday, notes that the newspaper market in Japan is radically different from that in the US. Although some smaller outlets are experimenting with new ways of reaching readers, most papers require subscriptions to access online content, and the barriers have kept circulation of print editions quite high compared to the US. Nikkei management appears worried that links could provide secret passages to content that should be safely behind the paywall, and this fear has led to the new approval policy."

Comments

Re:The difference is quality

[timmarhy]

" It isn't an aberration at all. It is a product of the same culture that brings you pedophilia dressed up cartoon outfits, hugely xenophobic attitudes towards other races, hivemind-like business practices, a deep insecurity of own culture, the equating of product defects with moral defects, institutionalized misogyny, and widespread depression among males."

you just described my impression of america.

Re:The difference is quality

[Anonymous Coward]

lacks almost completely the equating of product defects with moral defects

True, instead we have the "Protestant ethic": people defects are moral defects. If you fail it was because you were a sinner. If you get sick it's because you were a sinner. Anything bad happens? Sinner! You can intentionally build cheap plastic crap designed to kill the user, but as long as you make millions you are a moral bastion. Consider, too, people who complain about having to pay for someone else's healthcare because it MUST be because they did to themselves (as opposed to arguments about unconstitutionality or expense).

Pedophilia dressed up in cartoon outfits?

Britney Spears.