The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at. I've used Audacity as my primary audio editor for years. Admittedly, my requirements are pretty lightweight, but it does what I need.

2 30-second preroll ads? Barf. I've always considered 15 seconds -- or "skip ad after 5 seconds" -- the maximum that should be inflicted on readers/viewers. I'll check with our ad and tech people, see what's happening. I know a lot of publishers consider 30 seconds okay, but 2X30 seconds? Not good, but obviously not under the control of anyone who actually works on the site. Sigh.

Thanks for catching the typo. Fixed.

That's a question the lawyers are starting to wrestle with. What if you're handicapped in some way? How does the ADA apply?

So read the transcript and don't watch the video. Some people like them, some don't. You know this site is for sale, right? What if the new owner starts sending goon squads out to force you to watch videos? What will you do THEN, I ask you?

Seriously - if you think of the videos as an easy, low-cost way to produce verbatim text interviews, they make sense for that alone, with the video itself as a free bonus. I have friends, including some very smart people, who are dyslexic enough that it's easier for them to watch someone talk than to read the same thing. At the other extreme, you have speedreaders -- including me -- who process text faster than anyone can talk. So videos + transcripts = the best compromise and way to reach both groups end everybody in between.

And we realize that complaining, valid or not, is a big Slashdot sport, too. :)

Some people watch videos, some don't. We mark all videos as videos to keep you from watching them by mistake, and provide transcripts if you want the information in them but would rather read than view.

We *could* transmit videos directly to your brain using our subdural trans-pyschic information refabulizer, but we have decided not to do this. For now.