Wow. It sure does. One whose rss feed I won’t be seeing four times a day any more.
In this instance, reducing the tireless work of Jim Fallows to a headline and a row of “Share This” badges is a travesty.
Thin gruel, Atlantic. This is the wrong audience to treat like a batallion of traffic stooges.
On the other hand: the website is much nicer now, readability bookmarklets and Instapaper still work, adblock is still both functional and unnecessary, it’s still only a click away, and it’s still all completely free of charge.
I don’t know, I’m inclined to think one extra click in an RSS feed isn’t a terrible price to pay for the Atlantic’s entire archives being totally free of charge on line. Headline feeds, advertising, and social sharing icons are a sad inevitability, and I’d be pretty bored if I refused to read any web pub that employs some annoying practice or other in the pursuit of making money or keeping their content free. This audience has already proven it will put up with just about any indignity advertisers can think to throw at us, it’s too late for righteous unsubscribing.
Summary: There’s a thin line between irritating and necessary evil, and I don’t think the Atlantic has crossed it yet.
This post's short URL is http://tumblr.com/xox6vpuhl
This theme isn't yet complete, because I'm lazy. Don't mind the rough edges, and the unexpected appearance of this message at the bottom of the page.
