This is the executive summary of all the paywalls I created as part of my ITP Master's thesis Value Propositions. You used to be able to explore this site linearly, but deprecation has made caused many of the walls to crumble. If you're thinking about implementing a paywall, here's why I argued you shouldn't. If you're Rupert Murdoch or work for him, I'm sorry. If you'd like to see other things I've done or want to get in touch, visit me.
GrayWall: extracts mental labor in exchange for access to online information. In this example, you have to make a call and stay on the phone for ten seconds in order to access the next page.
BalletWall: senses physical labor biometrically in order to grant access to protected online content. Because this setup requires specialized electronics, this is a demo video.
MIAWall: operates on the principle that scarce things, when they're useful, are valuable. Accessing a page destroys it (except in this demo, there's a restore button, so feel free to refresh).
DelayWall: exists in a world where all content is free and in which production value is communicated temporally, so it takes as long to download something as it did to produce.
JoseWall: turns the web into a country store. Browsing is limited by IP address to sites hosted in the user's geographic vicinity. Never heard of Romeo, MI? You will!
DecayWall: disappears as time erodes it, so new things are hermetically sealed away. Over time, prying eyes break away at the protective carapace, though not before what's new has become dated.
BuffetWall: requires multiple concurrent users before it allows access to content. In these tough economic times, it just doesn't make sense to open up a server for one user.
PreyWall: a custom web browser that allows anyone with an Internet connection to charge for any and all content online. Claim a choice piece of the web while the virtual land grabbing is good!
FileAwayWall: the best of the rest. A bunch of paywalls that live only in my imagination, though they may make it into code one of these days.