That culture won't yield easily. But yield it may, some Web pioneers say. It's part of the evolution. And a potential shock to a system where people typically pay a monthly fee and then dig in. These days, hundreds of mainstream publications spend money to put their product on the World Wide Web for free.
Academics pile the research that is their stock in trade on the huge communal information heap.
Diners can buy books from the Zagat Survey series, rating restaurants, hotels and more, city by city. Or they can go online and see the collection for nothing. It may all sound like socialism or flower power or something. But the will to turn the Net into a pot of gold has always been there. Advertising has become increasingly sophisticated, with banners containing moving images beckoning them to click and read promotions that sometimes are tailored to the user's interests.