13ft – A site similar to 12ft.io but self-hosted

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

What 13ft Is and How It Works

  • Self‑hosted clone of 12ft.io that fetches pages with a Googlebot‑like user agent and strips ads/popups/paywalls.
  • Some like using it as a shareable “clean” article relay for friends or across devices.
  • Author states it was a quick proof‑of‑concept, not meant to be perfect.

Effectiveness and Technical Limitations

  • Mixed reports: works for some sites (including NYT for some users), but fails or only works once for others.
  • Many note big publishers likely validate Googlebot via IP / DNS or Cloudflare/WAF rules, making simple UA spoofing unreliable.
  • Some suspect sites asynchronously blacklist IPs that fake Googlebot.
  • Others are surprised any site still trusts the UA string alone.

Alternatives and Browser‑Side Approaches

  • Many use archive.org / archive.today / archive.is / archive.ph to bypass paywalls and preserve content.
  • Popular tools: Bypass Paywalls Clean (now DMCA‑targeted and mirrored in Russia), user‑agent switcher extensions, Requestly‑style header rewriting, Firefox about:config overrides.
  • uBlock Origin, NoScript, Pi‑hole, and similar are recommended for ads/popups and tracking, but they don’t usually defeat hard paywalls.
  • iOS limitations (WebKit requirement, weaker extension model) push some toward server‑side or shortcut‑based workarounds.

Ethical and Legal Debate

  • Strong split between those who see paywall bypassing as close to theft and those who see it as fair use given:
    • Poor UX (ads, trackers, popups, hard‑to‑cancel subs).
    • Desire to read only a handful of articles across many outlets.
    • Publishers whitelisting search bots while blocking regular users.
  • Some liken it to piracy; others argue no “taking” occurs, only copying, and point to publishers’ own cloaking as a “bait and switch.”

Search Engines, Cloaking, and Google’s Role

  • Several argue that showing free content to Googlebot but paywalled content to users should violate search policies (cloaking) and that paywalled content shouldn’t be indexed.
  • Others defend current practice as necessary to fund journalism while keeping articles discoverable.
  • Discussion extends into Googlebot IP verification, Cloudflare behavior, and antitrust concerns around exclusive data access (e.g., Reddit deals).

Business Models, Pricing, and Access

  • Many say they pay for a few core publications but cannot afford or justify dozens more just for occasional articles.
  • Strong interest in:
    • Micropayments / pay‑per‑article.
    • Netflix/Spotify‑style news bundles.
    • Library‑mediated access (PressReader, NYT day‑passes), which some report as working well in various countries.
  • Some propose universal syndication funded via taxes or ISP‑level fees; others worry about giving ISPs more power.