[throwaway09223]

I have the same strong feelings about walled sites and tracking. May I recommend installing an extension to disable paywalls/tracking? Something like https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-chrome (supports firefox despite the project name) which automatically wipes cookies from sites like Medium which enable "sign on" requirements after so many visits. It really improves the browsing experience.

I used to open these sites incognito or delete the cookies manually but it's really such an annoyance. Better to automate the policy of disallowing these folks to store cookies.

[tjoff]

Then why visit such sites? I deliberately do not install extensions that hide problems for me. I want it to be cumbersome. I want to get annoyed so that I get discouraged to use the site in the first place, and I get reminded of that fact with every single visit.

If the few that do care still visits there is no incitement for the site to not do it.

[denton-scratch]

Me neither. The forced login just reminds me that this is a site I don't want to visit, and a tab that I want to close. I'm not going to configure a workaround for every obstacle the site operators throw in my way; if they don't want me to visit, I won't visit.

I think they'll eventually learn not to do these things (see also cookie banners). But if they don't, it doesn't matter to me. There's other content available.

[throwaway09223]

Sure, I understand that philosophy and I think it's valid as well.