Snopes, the website famous for debunking internet myths and urban legends, will start charging for access next week based on a new payment model that allows them to take money directly from your ISP account or your PayPal account simply by browsing the site.
"For many years we have been giving advice to clueless internet people for free - it's about time we started to monetize our experience.", founder David Mikkelson explains.
"Most people are still too eager to believe something a friend of a friend reposted on Facebook rather than from a reputable myth database such as ours - perhaps our information has been devalued by giving it away for free for all these years. If people have to pay to be told that they're stupid, perhaps they'll start to understand that they really are gullible idiots."
When asked what percentage of Internet urban myths have actually been started by Snopes employees to start with, Mikkelson gave a wry smile, thought for a couple of minutes, and replied "quite a few", with a wink.
Internet Advocacy groups have warned that many people have started posting links online to a Snopes page that claims that it's impossible for them to charge their credit card via their ISP without the customer knowing - this is of course false, and this Snopes page, like all others, will soon cost $4.95 to read.
For those unwilling to pay the new charges, there is still one last chance - federal internet laws mean that users who posted a paragraph in block capitals describing the new rates for using Snopes as their Facebook status will continue to be able to use the service free of charge in perpetuity.
