Information wants to be free... barely

February 21, 2008 12:16 PM

Is there a standard way to embed bugmenot passwords in posts, because I like how Baphomet put it in the link title today and back in November.

When it isn't possible to find an openly accessible link, what's the best way to handle it? I'm often too impatient to hover over a link long enough for the title to pop up, but I don't like seeing FPPs all crufted up with parentheticals and small tags either.

posted by BrotherCaine to etiquette/policy at 12:16 PM (17 comments total)

The best way is the cruftification you speak of. Otherwise people don't notice it.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:25 PM on February 21

Or put it in the more inside. Or put it in the first comment. Or link to bugmenot instead, because some sites will delete bugmenotteed accounts after a while. Or link to the Google cache.
posted by Plutor at 12:36 PM on February 21

I didn't need a login to see that startribune article and wouldn't look for a mouseover anyway. Would you mind posting a Metatalk when use one? thx
posted by langedon at 12:38 PM on February 21

Funny, clicked on it again, and now it wants a password.
posted by langedon at 12:42 PM on February 21

Show me how this would work with, say, your checking account.
posted by Pastabagel at 12:52 PM on February 21 [1 favorite]

The best way is the cruftification you speak of. Otherwise people don't notice it.

I agree, something more like this.
posted by burnmp3s at 12:53 PM on February 21 [1 favorite]

Well hey, thanks!

/blush
posted by baphomet at 12:57 PM on February 21

langedon- I think the Strib website uses some weird ruleset for logins- you don't always need one if you're being directed to an article, but sometimes you do. If you visit the main page and search for a story you don't have to have a login to view that article, but if you give someone a link to that story they might have to. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. That's probably why you're noticing that behavior.

I didn't even realize I should include one until I was clicking on the links in preview to make sure they were right, and noticed that the direct link was asking me for a login.
posted by baphomet at 1:03 PM on February 21

There's a handy bugmenot FF extension that lets you right-click into any login form and try out a set of login/passwords. I don't even mind password walls now since it's a one click option to go through them.
posted by mathowie at 1:14 PM on February 21 [2 favorites]

I miss the days when 'cypherpunk' would work as the login/ password at most sites. That was really useful.

Still, bugmenot.com almost always comes through. As a matter of protocol, I prefer it when people provide a link to the specific bugmenot page with the login choices for that site. That way if one doesn't work, there is a chance that one of the others might. It might cruft up the post, but it futureproofs it better than just providing a single login.
posted by quin at 1:21 PM on February 21

Thank god you posted this.

Now we can get back to the topic of favorite mefi flame wars.
posted by shmegegge at 1:54 PM on February 21

Pastabagel, sure.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:08 PM on February 21

In a related request, how about automatically linking pdf files with PdfMeNOT?
posted by dhruva at 3:06 PM on February 21 [1 favorite]

A Flash PDF reader? What a shitty goddamn idea.

Fix your own damn computer. There's nothing inherent to the combination of PDFs and Web Browsers that have to engender such suckage.
posted by blasdelf at 6:49 PM on February 21

I like PDFs through the Flash reader. It sure beats going through a download prompt or waiting around while Firefox freezes and the Reader plugin loads.
posted by junesix at 11:04 PM on February 21

PdfMeNot is slooooooow.

Foxit Reader, on the other hand, is slicker than a really slick thing.
posted by flabdablet at 1:17 AM on February 22

BugMeNot for Firefox.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:40 AM on February 22