The answer follows Betteridge’s law of headlines1In case you don’t click the link, the answer is no..
Article here (kudos for the shameless wordplay): On The Verge of a Paywall
Bonus irony points for this appearing in the link above:
Why would I not pay? It comes down to how I am visiting the site less these days, and the reason for that is a general steering toward clickbait-style content, opinion pieces of dubious value, and an increasing lack of awareness in the people reporting on tech and what is happening. There is also a distinct lack of a critical eye on companies that have long passed the point of getting the proverbial free pass.
EDIT to add more: The redesign they did a while back, just before Dieter Bohn left to join Google, was a horrible mess. Purple text. PURPLE TEXT. It’s still a mess, really, and it has one mode (on the front page)–dark. Too bad if that’s hard on your eyes, it’s hip. They also love embedding X stories and Instagram (which shows nothing if you are not logged into your Instagram account–you have one, right?) And they also repeat stories multiple times on the front page, which feels like hitting the reader on the head repeatedly with a Nerf hammer. Gentle, but annoying.
Plus, I’ve been engaged in The Culling for a few years now, and having one less site to read would be no big thing. Sorry, Verge!
But to be fair, The Verge does have good writing, as well, and they’ve occasionally experimented with the design of some stories in ways a site like Ars Technica (see below) never has. That’s good! It’s just not enough, overall.
EDIT, Part 2: I wanted to add that I am willing to pay for sites. I have subscribed to Ars Technica for several years now–they remove ads for paid subs, but even better, the design takes advantage of the ad-free space and everything flows better, even compared to using an ad blocker. But mainly, I support the site because they produce lots of articles I enjoy, the discussion is good (and the comments system isn’t atrocious, unlike The Verge’s).