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Yeah exactly, at what point do we as people or society place value on text when presented? Is it when printed on a copy paper, glossy magazine stock, newspaper, or a leather bound volume? Even types of books are considered valuable based on materials but the cost of producing them is part of that - paperback vs hardback, etc. I also think it's totally natural for people to mentally devalue a work based on presentation.
We pay $5 for a homemade zine because we know the work inside is worth it to us as readers. We know that other people invested time and their own money to produce something of merit to others. (Not too dissimilar to a free to read blog where the owner pays the hosting fees and can get by on donations for maintenance etc, in this case the $5 covers the shipping and cost to print at kinkos or the library.)
The issue with digital text -hosted online- is once it gets too popular it becomes more expensive to host, and that's where we get the subscriptions/ads/sponsors just like newspapers and magazines had to. But then that paywall goes up and we all freak out, I do it too. I click on a NYT article and can't get past that first line of text and rage quit the page XD. That's one of the things I'm trying to figure out. Why do I get upset when the ebook is only a dollar less than the paperback? It's the same story. Why do I think paying for an email newsletter is bonkers? I understand the work that goes into them, I know better. It's wild.
The one email newsletter I've paid for was written by a woman with a classics degree in a very lyrical style, and I'm shy about seeking that stuff out so it was delightful to have it presented to me every so often in digestible sizes. There's lots of it in books, but it was more of a novelty presented among all my other daily notifications.