# What do people here have against signing up... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092 "2004-10-13T21:46:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/1 "2004-10-13T21:46:04Z")
…for free online access to news sources? No cites becaue I don’t want to point fingers, but I am sick and tired of people here who are either too dead-assed or paranoid about spam to sign up for free access so they can check other people’s cites. Let me make something very clear: I am signed up with the Chicago Tribune and Sun Times, the Chicago area’s Herald newspapers, New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, and God only knows what other papers and magazines. Beyond a once or twice-yearly suggestion that I subscribe and unless they are selling my email to vendors of teen porn and natural Viagra I have NEVER recieved ONE PIECE of spam attributable to my subscriptions. NONE. ZIP. NADA. For God’s sake, if I hear one more person whining, “Boo-hoo! Spoon feed me or I might get spammed!” I will get angry. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/2 "2004-10-13T21:58:18Z")
Because… What’s the fucking point of signing up if it’s free?! Just give direct access like normal news sites. I admit I’m lazy. I don’t want to piss about giving my e-mail address to something that for all I know WILL give it to spammers somewhere down the line. You say you get none. Are we all supposed to magically know that until you tell us? I fucking hate beurocracy getting in the way of me getting what I want. If I see a link (with no warning of a signup) to a story I want to see the story. I don’t want to sign up for something that I’ll probably never visit ever again. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/3 "2004-10-13T22:00:49Z")
Because it’s a PITA, esp. if you use multiple computers. I’ve signed up for a few online newspapers, but I refuse to sign up for every rag that thinks they can “get rich quick” by making their readers jump through hoops. Most of the time, I only wanted to read a single article that someone else linked to. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/4 "2004-10-13T22:03:05Z")
It’s a hassle. Signing up for sites I’ll visit repeatedly (NYTimes, Washington Post) is one thing, but I don’t want to have to jump through hoops to register at a site I’ll likely never return to just so I can look at one article. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/5 "2004-10-13T22:11:32Z")
In other words, “Spoon feed me because I’m too lazy!” :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/6 "2004-10-13T22:16:20Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > In other words, “Spoon feed me because I’m too lazy!” :mad: Why does it bother you so much? We live in a spoonfed society. With all the technology we now have we expect instant information, so naturally it’s annoying to have to do unnecesary work to get it. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/7 "2004-10-13T22:20:00Z")
They also often request an email address to send the password or whatever too. Personally I would rather not have any more spam thankyouverymuch. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/8 "2004-10-13T22:20:13Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > In other words, “Spoon feed me because I’m too lazy!” :mad: Actually. I want to change my answer to ‘Yes’. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/9 "2004-10-13T22:22:18Z")
It IS a hassle – but I have a throwaway Hotmail account that I use for just that purpose, something like [YouCantHaveMyAddress@hotmail.com](mailto:YouCantHaveMyAddress@hotmail.com). I also give my address as “123 Main Street” in the nearest large city/zip code, and my phone number as (800) 555-1212. My name is A. Smith and I am a male born in 1950. They’ve all fallen for it so far. ---
**Author:** ![caphis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19adc/32.png) [@caphis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caphis)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/10 "2004-10-13T22:31:17Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > It IS a hassle – but I have a throwaway Hotmail account that I use for just that purpose, something like [YouCantHaveMyAddress@hotmail.com](mailto:YouCantHaveMyAddress@hotmail.com). I also give my address as “123 Main Street” in the nearest large city/zip code, and my phone number as (800) 555-1212. My name is A. Smith and I am a male born in 1950. > > They’ve all fallen for it so far. [www.bugmenot.com](http://www.bugmenot.com) Your life will be 10x easier. From a fellow "spoon-feed-me"er. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/11 "2004-10-13T22:31:23Z")
I did the same thing when I registered with the LA Times. I am: Joe Schmoe 123 Noh Street Noneofyourbusiness, OK 91191 Birthdate: July 28, 1918 And if you carefully uncheck all the “Spam me, please!” boxes, you shouldn’t get any extra spam. I don’t, anyway. In fact, I have a throw-away yahoo account that I always use for this sort of thing, and I get approx. 2 spams/day. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/12 "2004-10-13T22:31:39Z")
pssst… [www.bugmenot.com](http://www.bugmenot.com) Plus, there’s even a plug in that makes it so that a right click brings up a browser with a valid username/password. pssst… mods, I know [bugmenot.com](http://bugmenot.com) is not technically illegal (if it was, I wouldn’t post it) but I’m not sure if it breaks any other SDMB rules. If it does, please feel free to delete this or any of my other posts, sign me up for spam email involving armadillos and power tools, send along address info for me to send gifts that signify my most sincere apologies for upsetting you or any other of the Chicago Reader’s staff, and accept my firstborn (if I ever have any) as your own personal slave. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/13 "2004-10-13T22:34:45Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > …for free online access to news sources? No cites becaue I don’t want to point fingers, but I am sick and tired of people here who are either too dead-assed or paranoid about spam to sign up for free access so they can check other people’s cites. I think the person who expects the 10, 20, 100 or more people who read a thread to register to read their link, rather than taking a few extra minutes to find a source that doesn’t require doing so is more than a wee bit lazy themselves. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/14 "2004-10-13T22:38:19Z")
Just in case you need to provide a throwaway email in a flash in situations where BugMeNot doesn’t apply, use mailinator.com. Just make up any old name and tell the person/site “[anyoldname@mailinator.com](mailto:anyoldname@mailinator.com)” Go to mailinator’s web site and you can then look for mail that has been sent to “[anyoldname@mailinator.com](mailto:anyoldname@mailinator.com)” Absolutely no signup or anything. It’s great. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/15 "2004-10-13T22:38:57Z")
> [@Profane](#): > > I think the person who expects the 10, 20, 100 or more people who read a thread to register to read their link, rather than taking a few extra minutes to find a source that doesn’t require doing so is more than a wee bit lazy themselves. HEAR HEAR! Beat _that_ one **dropzone**! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/16 "2004-10-13T22:40:45Z")
Or just quote the relevant points. Then, if someone wants to read the entire article, it’s their choice, not your wish. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/17 "2004-10-13T22:41:59Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I am signed up with the Chicago Tribune and Sun Times, the Chicago area’s Herald newspapers, New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, and God only knows what other papers and magazines. Each of those signups will have taken a couple of minutes of your time. I get requested for singups daily, from a myriad of sources. _It takes time_. All they gain from it is an addition to a demographic profile, most of which could be obtained from my browser settings. And when a post here, or elsewhere, seems to want a quick-and-snappy response to their witty OP, registering for the site hardly seems congruous. Even bothering with Bugmenot seems a hassle for ephemeral stuff (and BTW, Bugmenot doesn’t work with Mozilla, AFAIK.) ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/18 "2004-10-13T23:06:41Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > (and BTW, Bugmenot doesn’t work with Mozilla, AFAIK.) What are you talking about? I’m using Mozilla right now and I have a plug-in (readily available from mozdev) that simply requires you right-click in the text box and choose “bugmenot,” after which it automatically fills in the bugmenot-provided username and password. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/19 "2004-10-13T23:13:38Z")
OK, so I’m on outdated information about the compatibility…but the site nonetheless doesn’t work with Mozilla 1.8! ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092/20 "2004-10-14T01:14:45Z")
> [@](#): > > _Profane said:_ > I think the person who expects the 10, 20, 100 or more people who read a thread to register to read their link, rather than taking a few extra minutes to find a source that doesn’t require doing so is more than a wee bit lazy themselves. I don’t know, I’m going to have to agree to some degree with **dropzone**. I think it’s a bit of a drag that we then can’t use the NYT or the Washington Post because of sign up. A couple of choice quotes can usually get the articles point across for the lazy bones. I guess if it’s an AP or Reuters story an alternative is easy enough to find. It would be nice, but I suppose unlikely, if some convention developed on which sites we could expect seasoned Dopers to be already signed up for. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-here-have-against-signing-up/269092.md?page=2)