Did somebody hit you over the head with a tent-pole, CamperBob? What abuse are you possibly talking about? This story is a tremendous work of journalism, crafted by an author who really ought to get paid for his work.
Or do you work for free too?
When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."
How would you feel if this tremendous work of journalism was only accessible after filling in a 20 page lifestyle questionnaire? Do you think that's ok if it means they are getting paid for their work?
Alternatively they could choose less obnoxious advertising that still enables them to earn a living without detracting from the reader's enjoyment.
To answer your question: yes, I'm paid for my work, but I don't have to harass my customers to make it happen.
Oh, wait. I'm not the customer in this case, am I? I'm the product.
edit - on reflection, it's about the parasitic middlmen as usual. micropayments directly to sites and authors skirts that whole species.
I'm not really agreeing with them, but I don't think their viewpoint is absurd.
It may be overestimating how harmful pop-up ads are, but , it doesn't seem /that/ unreasonable?