“we put up a registration wall... the backlash that we got of you're going to put up this registration wall when it was completely free before... we just took it all down... I think we earn goodwill by being willing to say we're going to walk back on what we ultimately did”

Walk back a bad monetization decision before resentment compounds

When Pitchfork added a registration wall the day of an unrelated editorial controversy, the backlash was immediate. Michael pulled it the same day rather than defending the decision. Walking back a monetization test quickly signals respect for the community and recovers goodwill faster than any apology campaign. Stubbornly defending a bad experiment costs far more than reversing it.