[boolemancer]

> The average user doesn't even recognize that running a website literally cost electricity that must be paid for. Who pays for it? Who will carry the boats?

Running a retail store also has costs associated with it, including, yes, electricity.

Yet if I walk into a store and leave without buying anything, do I feel like I owe the store owner anything?

No. That's not how that works, nor is that how it should work.

[maccard]

There’s a difference between browsing in a shop and reading content online. It’s much more like going in and sitting in a book shop, reading a book and leaving.

[PawgerZ]

No, it's not. It's more like an online bookstore mailing you a copy of a book for free. The only catch is that they also sent a book full of ads and directions that say: after every page of the book, look at an ad. Then, when I receive these, I don't even take the ad book out of the package, read the actual book, and send them both back.

You can imagine why Amazon never decided to go with this business model.