Autonomy: Barring access to linked content

An arbitrary demand for site registration is a severe test of users’ goodwill.

The Site

Autonomy, a leading producer of artificial intelligence systems, makes additional information available across its website in Discover More and Related Documents panels and in a variety of formats. Whenever the selection in the panel includes one or more PDF documents a footnote is added requesting users to “Please register to activate the PDF download links above”. This does not apply to other forms of content such as HTML press releases.

So, for example, on the About Autonomy and Employment pages in the company information section visitors have unrestricted access to a New Scientist article, which is reproduced as a web page in the News section, but must register to read either of the PDF-based reproductions of recent articles from the Financial Times. Similarly, in Investors it is necessary to register to get the 2006 AGM Notice (a PDF of a Word document) but not the Autonomy Review of 2006.

The Takeaway

The presence of related-links panels is such a standard of website architecture as normally to be unremarkable. But what people do with the panels can often draw them to attention. Autonomy’s singular treatment of PDF documents is a prime example: in order to read them, visitors have to register with the site whereas they can happily browse similar content (published articles) with no such requirement.

Why the distinction? Such seemingly arbitrary discrimination makes no sense in terms of information provision, imposing at best a delay on readers reaching some of the content they have been recommended to look at. And it is so unusual as to irritate web users – who are used to accessing PDFs freely on most sites.

Site registration is usually a tool of the marketing department and is often used as a prerequisite for downloading white papers or other proprietary content. In such cases, that’s entirely appropriate and users will generally consider it a fair exchange of information. But demanding similar for third-party articles is a severe test of goodwill. Many will decline the invitation to register, and never get the message. Autonomy needs to find a more selective and flexible approach to requesting registration.

First published on 27 February, 2007