I rarely visit Techdirt any more, but I’ve got to say that this is one of the most straight up, accurate, and honest ‘Daily Deal’ ads I can remember seeing here, devoid of marketing hype or extraordinary claims or improbable promises, selling a popular subscription service from an established company. And it’s good to see the price listed up front for a change (instead of the well-worn “90% off [unspecified price] but only if you buy now!” gimmick). It’s a most welcome change from the early days, when many of us might have worried that a well-respected site might be in danger of slipping over into the dark side.

This Pandora ad is one that probably should draw no complaints of any kind, at least from any reasonable person (even those who passionately hate salesmanship of all types).

Yet it’s somewhat sad to see this site’s proprietor waste his time responding to glib wisecracks (that don’t deserve a response) while often not answering –even if quieting reading and heeding– many of the more legitimate complaints.

Off-topic rant: As Techdirt has grown and prospered, the content has strayed more and more from its traditional core interests — basically what made Techdirt Techdirt. Letting writers loose on whatever topics they are most passionate about can be a double-edged sword, and at some point you may want to re-examine your course and ask yourself if this new direction is where you really want to be heading. And finally, when a long-neglected (but highly important) subject achieves critical mass in the mainstream media, is it time to start backing off and searching for new under-reported stories to push — or just going back to your roots … like the way Techdirt was 5 or 10 or 15 years ago?