memo
Python Software FoundationMr. Seth Michael Larson, an engineer who develops at , has summarized the current state of payment methods for websites in a blog.
How do I pay the publisher of a web page?
https://sethmlarson.dev/how-to-i-pay-for-a-web-page
A URL is the address of content on the web. But if you want to send money to the owner of the URL, you don’t have many options. While there are many ways to get paid, such as Patreon, Kofi, GitHub sponsorship, and YouTube channel memberships, there is no “standard” way to pay for the content on your page.
Mr. Larson summarized the current remittance methods, saying, “I want to be able to easily send tips and support people who have created content that I like by just clicking a button.”
・Payment request API
JavaScript has a payment request API. However, it requires website administrators to add JavaScript code to their pages, and it is more difficult than implementing other payment services, and payments must be processed individually, resulting in “a lot of work.” “I don’t think people will introduce a payment request API,” Larson said. “While the API exists, I haven’t seen it used by creators.”
・Link to payment method on page
Website owners may embed links on their pages to the payment providers they use. It is possible to scrape payment links, but with scraping there is a risk of collecting “other people’s links posted in comments”, which raises questions about reliability. In this case, reliability can be ensured by the site creator setting the link using the meta tag in the head.
・Podcasting 2.0’s “podcast:funding“tag
In Podcasting 2.0, which expanded RSS for podcasts, there is a tag called “podcast:funding”. When using podcast:funding, it is possible to set and link a URL for support along with text requesting support such as “Please support me!” and “Become a member.”
・Flattr
Flattr is a service that allows users to “subscribe” a certain amount of money and distribute it to sites based on that user’s browsing history. It started in 2010, but the service will end in 2023.
“Accessing your entire browsing history is a privacy nightmare,” Larson said of Flattr, adding, “We had no choice but to take the difficult path of creating our own payment platform for creators to enable micropayments.” I rated it as. Due to the structure of micropayments, the percentage of payment fees inevitably increases, and there is a structural contradiction in that if you can earn enough money to offset the payment fees, there is no need to rely on micropayments.
For these reasons, Larson concluded, “I don’t think we would want to replicate Flattr’s approach.”
・Brave
Brave has a website that shares revenue from advertisements issued by Brave.Brave RewardsThere is a system called “. However, since Brave Rewards uses the virtual currency “BAT”, Larson said, “There are many payment methods other than virtual currency, but why are creators and users going out of their way to adopt new technology?” I don’t think it’s necessary to do so.” He gave a negative review.
Given the current situation, Larson says, “There seems to be a path to creating something as a web standard.”
In addition, GIGAZINE also welcomes tips in BAT. If you are a Brave user, please tip to support us!
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