[iraphael]

I just wonder what the effect of having a tool like this available would be. Most websites don't use paywalls because of a combination of two factors:

a) they don't believe it to be a good business model.

b) they don't want to put the effort into implementing such a system themselves.

c) they believe paywalls hurt the open web.

If google solves b, we will see a lot more websites putting up paywalls. How is that good for the open web?

I understand the article is trying to say "if Google doesn't do it, someone else will, and if that happens the open web will die even faster". But the assumption that someone will do it and that paywalls will become the standard at some point is still just that: an assumption. I don't think an assumption is good enough for a company that values the open web (assuming Google values the open web) to sacrifice part of it because it would be better than if someone else did it.