phranque - 5:38 am on Mar 4, 2007 (gmt 0)

Yes, indexing pay-only content is a waste of the user's time. More importantly, it's a waste of MY time.

i'd like to know something is available and then decide if it is worth getting.
sometimes free content is worth exactly what you pay for it!

maybe my search today is for the free 30 second snippet of that song i was trying to remember but the same search tomorrow is so i can buy and download the cd.

is it a waste of time to know that your neighborhood book store has a book for sale on a subject that you are interested in?
perhaps there is a magazine in a rack down the street that has a review of a consumer product you were thinking of buying.
or maybe you would like to know that something is available in the local library even if you must obtain a library card before you can borrow it.

i don't really see the essential difference here...