This supposes that you must EITHER accept cluttered, lowest common denominator content OR a monetization scheme from 1930 shoehorned into the internet. My point is that _Finance_ (as opposed to the simple desire to pay rent) has resulted in paywalls on websites. So in essence I'm agreeing with the article all while circumventing their attempts at getting me to pay.

It's never quite that extreme. I've yet to see a respected publisher devolve into GIF-delivered content out of financial constraints.

That said, there are plenty of free publications with quality writing. Paying for an article hardly correlates with its excellence.