This has to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen in some time.
I read an article on CBC’s web site this afternoon and thought my wife would be interested in reading it on our drive home from work.
I’m pretty computer savvy and I know how to print stuff from my web browser, but most web sites will provide you with a “print” link so you can print something out, formatted for printing. It’s cleaner and doesn’t waste paper.
CBC’s web site is no exception.
I clicked the print link directly above the news article. The window that popped up nearly made me fall off my chair.
What’s this? I’m allowed to print 5 copies for “free” on my own printer. If I want to print 6 or more, I have to pay? Pay to print 6 or more copies on my own printer, using my own ink and paper?
If I choose “File > Print” in Firefox, there is nothing to stop me from printing as many copies as I want. How could they stop me from printing more than 5 copies using their method?
So, I clicked Go> beside the Free Print option.
The news article appeared, formatted for printing (without ads, thanks to AdBlock Plus). Along the top of the formatted web page was this banner:
Not surprising that there was nothing they could do to prevent me from printing 6 or more copies. They were trusting me to print 5 or less.
“ROFLMAO” was invented specifically for times like this.
I had to find out what would happen if I clicked the Instant Print option.
Seriously, CBC, are you that hard up for cash that you have to try to charge people to print a copy of your news article?
Do you really think your readers are dumb enough to willingly pay you for the “honour” of printing it using their own printer?