Changing the Equation
Robert Cox linked to my thoughts about the future of Lying in Ponds in response to the TimesSelect announcement. In the comments, Jon Garfunkel actually offered to pay the $50/year for me, but as Bob points out, that wouldn’t help readers who couldn’t access the NYT columns.
Here’s the deal. As I said earlier, I don’t object at all to the NYT practicing capitalism by trying to translate the value of their columnists into revenue. But paying for access would change the Lying in Ponds equation by adding a new cost (in addition to the considerable time commitment) and by simultaneously reducing the significance of the results (lowering the accessibility of some of the highest-profile pundits). I could choose to not pay and lower the cost, but the signifcance of the results without any Times columnists would be even lower.
I haven’t definitely decided yet; I’ll think about it for a while. Thanks to Bob Cox and Peg Kaplan for their kind encouragement.
