Ethics of Bypassing Paywalls on News

[zippy2006]

Don't forget that in the OT farmers were commanded to leave the edges of their fields for the poor. When people are denied access to things that others take for granted, it's wrong to judge them for wanting a slice of what someone else has an overabundance of. You can call their actions immoral if you want to, but I would be more apt to judge the system that creates them, than the person who's simply a consequence of it.

You are falsely comparing food necessary to live with a website article.

That's one of my pet peeves with society. It divides people between those who have the ability to pay, and those who don't.

Your truck is not with society, it is with reality, money, scarcity, etc. And your Marxist alternative doesn't make everything affordable; it only destroys society.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Is that ethical, to then post the summaries, if I use my library card instead of the paywall blocker as my library gives me free access to these news sites?

There is a grey area, and I don't feel competent to draw where the line is. I have noticed instances where the AI has 'quoted' nearly word for word, entire sentences. At the same time, obviously, I do quote word for word entire sentences, but I restrict myself to whatever I feel is 'fair use' rather than the entire article. The rules here require:

Quoted portions of any work should not exceed 20% of the total work. Materials owned by the Associated Press must be quoted using only one sentence.

You guys have made me decide to deactivate my paywall bypass software today, as both groups of people (Christians and atheists) have said the same thing, that paywall blockers are unethical.

I very much appreciate your willingness to adjust your behavior based on feedback from other posters here.

 

[AlexB23]

Okay, well good for you, that is impressive. I will try to keep an eye out for your post.

Thank you. From now on, I will use my library card to access news sites the ethical way, and will no longer give summaries of sites blocked by paywalls, as folks should be using their library cards to access this information. I will still give summaries of articles posted by the Guardian (donation model), New York Post (as it has no paywalls, though the news there is skewed), NPR (donation model), BBC (ad supported) and any other paper that has open-access information.

For my future post, I will be touching upon the ethical pros and cons of paywalls, using some of the stuff that you said, @Ophiolite said and research. Honestly, news reporters need to make money somehow (even though the CEOs of news companies make millions, the journalists themselves still need food on their table). With all the news releasing recently in our world with the wars and the trial, I am thinking about throwing $15 to the Guardian (UK) or NPR (USA) to help the reporters out.

This is my library's website to access the NYT through a library licensing deal. I redacted the name of the library, as that shows where I live.
There is an article by another library (not from my state) which does something similar to mine, and has a deal with newspaper companies: Access news online for free with your library card

 

[partinobodycular]

You are falsely comparing food necessary to live with a website article.

To me they're very comparable, because they're indicative of a person's value to society. Perhaps you missed the part about all men being created equal, because you seem to assume that money can change that. That due to your economic status you have the right to things that others don't. I'm sorry, but I'm not buying that for a second. To me an honorable homeless person, deserves at least as much as a dishonorable ex-president, yet in keeping with the spirit of Christ I'll respect both of them for simply being what God wanted them to be.

Call my ideals Marxism if you like, but I prefer the term Christianity.

 

[zippy2006]

Perhaps you missed the part about all men being created equal, because you seem to assume that money can change that. That due to your economic status you have the right to things that others don't.

Yeah, we call it "buying."

 

[AlexB23]

There is a grey area, and I don't feel competent to draw where the line is. I have noticed instances where the AI has 'quoted' nearly word for word, entire sentences. At the same time, obviously, I do quote word for word entire sentences, but I restrict myself to whatever I feel is 'fair use' rather than the entire article. The rules here require:

Quoted portions of any work should not exceed 20% of the total work. Materials owned by the Associated Press must be quoted using only one sentence.


I very much appreciate your willingness to adjust your behavior based on feedback from other posters here.

Thank you. And yeah, AI can sometimes quote stuff nearly word for word, according to CNBC and Wikipedia. From CNBC and Wikipedia, both sources say that AI can inadvertently copy 8-44% of texts from books, so if that is the case, AI could infringe rights on articles as well. Mixtral can inadvertently copy 22% of book material. The AI that I use is Mistral 7B, which is not Mixtral, though as both are made by the same company named Mistral. So, I am betting that Mistral 7B also infringes >20% as well.

I think I might have found my favorite subforum here, Ethics & Morality. You guys changed my views on this topic.

CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/06/gpt...ing-ai-models-for-copyright-infringement.html
Wikipedia screen capture below, from: Mistral AI - Wikipedia

For others here, this is a screen capture of the CF rules that @essentialsaltes pointed out.

 

[AlexB23]

To me they're very comparable, because they're indicative of a person's value to society. Perhaps you missed the part about all men being created equal, because you seem to assume that money can change that. That due to your economic status you have the right to things that others don't. I'm sorry, but I'm not buying that for a second. To me an honorable homeless person, deserves at least as much as a dishonorable ex-president, yet in keeping with the spirit of Christ I'll respect both of them for simply being what God wanted them to be.

Call my ideals Marxism if you like, but I prefer the term Christianity.

I like your utopian ideals, but at the same time, journalists have to put food on the table. It would be great if all news websites had a donation run system (pay-what-you-want), but a lot of people would freeload. The Guardian has managed to keep up a donation run system, same with NPR. Now, if you want to bypass paywalls on your own dime (pun intended), you can (cos I am not Jesus or a cop), but from now on, I will be using my library card, as my local library has signed an agreement with the newspaper companies. I will also no longer provide summaries of articles that are blocked by a paywall, due to copyright legislation. I will only summarize articles from papers that are free to access from the get-go, or are free/optionally donation run.

Yes, the CEO of NYT makes $10M per year, yes the CEO of the Wall Street Journal and Fox (Rupert Murdoch) has a net worth of $8 billion. But, the thing is, most journalists only make $57,000 a year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That money can get you far in a small town, but in a big city on the West Coast or East Coast, $57,000 would barely get you by.

 

[essentialsaltes]

You guys changed my views on this topic.

If I weren't Mr. Gruff in my avatar, I might be Jet, so I'm charmed to be part of the influence on Spike.

 

[AlexB23]

If I weren't Mr. Gruff in my avatar, I might be Jet, so I'm charmed to be part of the influence on Spike.

Thank you, brother. It is true that Jet from Cowboy Bebop (1998 anime) was a positive influence on the young man named Spike Spiegel. Man, that was my favorite anime, which I watched during the second half of 2023, via DVD from the library, as the show was/or still is not on Netflix or Amazon as of that time. It is sad how the modern 2020s anime nowadays seems to not have as many positive role models, and the new stuff seems more bent on violence and risque content.

God, or whomever you believe in, has helped me realize that being a Robin Hood for you guys was not the best choice. He put you on this forum to change my ways when it comes to paywalls. I am trying to better myself as a young guy to be slow to judge, have better ethics for all things, and to not be hypocritical.