An announcement by The Globe and Mail that some of its financial coverage would be restricted to subscribers next year drew a curious reaction from commenters — many of whom are certain that it will represent the start of a slope that they won't pay to climb.

The backlash might be viewed as validation for the company — which now fends for itself after being unclenched from Bell Media — considering the emergent competition that led the Globe to previously unlock all its content in March 2008.

Back then, the trial paralleled an effort by The New York Times to offset the cost of reporting news online by charging for access to opinionators. But the market value of a sermonizing columnist was in free-fall before social media kicked in.

After all, if merely spouting off was a sufficient business model, then it would allow the wealth to be spread to those who leave feedback. Yet many newspaper old-timers would still rather not acknowledge their respondents. More typical in the web journalism field is a feeling of contempt toward those "conversation" joiners.

So, it was notable that Report on Business section executive editor Scott Adams waded into reaction to the Globe plan — asking for more feedback from any halfway cogent commenter. The cranks might be too gobsmacked by this interaction to actually follow up.

The concept of online comments on news coverage has been doomed because nobody is sure about who owes what to whom. Without any kind of financial transaction involved, the non-paying reader will be of relatively little worth, even if the move to verification might also allow for more targeted advertising.

Nonetheless, a higher-end media brand might be better off aiming higher. Globe editor-in-chief John Stackhouse, in the course of announcing the plan, all but admitted that display advertising isn't worth putting all their corporate chips on. Business intel seems to be the right place to begin again.

Those who have been accustomed to getting compensated for their feelings, by contrast, might now have to figure out how to pay their readers instead.