Sometimes when you run into an article you want to read but get a pop-up telling you to subscribe or pay or some other action, you can still get to the article by turning off JavaScript and turning it back on after you’ve read the article. Here are a couple of ways to do that. This does not work 100% of the time but it does about 99% of the time for me. Your mileage may vary.
There’s also a Google Chrome extension called Disable JavaScript I use that allows me to turn Javascript off and on as I need to and makes it a lot easier to do as I run into articles that are behind paywalls. It places a toolbar button in your browser for easy access.
If you don’t want to install an extension, you can access your JavaScript settings by typing in and entering this into a browser tab: chrome://settings/content/javascript. Just make sure you turn it back on when you’re done reading the article so your browser behaves correctly for other sites.
By the way, here is ChatGPT’s first result after I typed in “What are Paywalls”:
A paywall is a system that restricts access to content on the Internet, requiring users to pay a fee in order to view the content. This is often used by media companies and other organizations to generate revenue from their online content.
Paywalls can be implemented in a variety of ways, such as requiring users to purchase a subscription or requiring payment on a per-article basis.
Paywalls are commonly used to access articles on news websites, but they can also be used to access other types of content, such as digital magazines, ebooks, and academic journals.
Some paywalls may offer a limited amount of free content before requiring payment, while others may require payment for all content.
Paywalls can be a controversial topic, as some people believe that access to information should be free, while others argue that paywalls are necessary for companies to generate revenue and sustain their operations.