A paywall that allows exceptions, intentional or otherwise, to the strict metered article limit. Also used to describe paywalls with a very generous article limit, or freemium models. According to a study of top news and magazine sites, Columbia Journalism Review reports that there are many ‘holes’ in paywalls.
Examples include: - Not counting the first article read towards the meter limit when the visitor is from a search result, - Allowing digital content to be accessed for free from Twitter, - Removing the paywall limit during breaking news stories or local emergencies, or - Not catching users that delete cookies or use incognito browsing.