I don’t often get to write for the Ars Technica front page anymore—I’m usually off pulling levers behind the scenes—but I count it a privilege every day to work with the team we’ve assembled here at Ars for the express purposes of serving you, the reader! As such, I hope that you will consider supporting Ars Technica by buying a subscription.

Ars launched its first subscription program in post-bubble 2001 when ad money dried up. Even then, we did not institute a “paywall.” Our deep desire was (and is) that our work remains accessible to as many people as possible. This has meant living in a world where we rely on both subscriptions and advertising. Without either, we wouldn’t be here.

For the next week, we are going to mount a subscription drive with the goal of convincing 5,000 more of you to join one of our membership tiers. The reason is simple: we need your financial support to weather the next several months, as advertising dollars are all drying up thanks to the current state of the economy. Each and every subscription dollar goes against our direct editorial costs. So please consider joining us!

I remain convinced that Ars Technica is a uniquely fascinating publication in science and technology, and the past few weeks bear this out. Millions of people around the world have read Dr. Beth Mole’s regularly updated, carefully vetted coronavirus FAQ. (A million more wanted to know why everyone’s hoarding toilet paper. We’re glad to answer all relevant questions!) When I’ve had my fill of COVID-19 news, it’s a welcome relief to unclench those jaw muscles and take a tour of The Orville set with our own Jennifer Ouellette or to spend a weekend with Elon Musk and our own Eric Berger. Need to soothe yourself with some huge guns and/or cute animals? Sam Machkovech and Kyle Orland have you covered with reviews of everything from Animal Crossing: New Horizons to Doom Eternal. Jim Salter’s here to explain what to do with an underperforming Ice Lake GPU. Jon Brodkin, as always, is keeping tabs on what ISPs are up to. And those are just some of our March highlights.

So that’s what we do. It’s a privilege to do it, and we believe there’s real value in it.

Of course, in this time of global crisis, any excess money is best given to well-run charities, to support front-line medical staff, or to keep local businesses afloat. But if, after you’ve done your part to keep people alive and the world running, you still want to support compelling digital journalism, consider a subscription to Ars.

Subscriptions are the best tool we have to keep control over our own destiny and to calm the churning seas ahead. Boosting subscriptions matters enough to Ars that, right now, we’ll even knock 20% of the first-year price for Ars Pro++.

There are goodies in it for you, too, of course—no ads, no tracking scripts, even a free gift. For subs, the site loads extra fast and looks extra great. But I hope you’ll consider subscribing not just for the benefits but as an investment in the quality work we’ve been doing here for more than 20 years. Thanks so much for reading; we literally could not do what we do without you.

Stay safe—and wash those hands.

Here’s what you get with your new $50 $40 Ars Pro++ subscription:

• Your choice of a YubiKey 5 NFC ($45 value) or YubiKey 5C ($50 value), both of which add an extra layer of security for your logins.
• Clean reading mode: it’s our optimized, ad-free layout that makes Ars easier to read.
• A completely ad-free experience.
• No tracking scripts (aside from those in Twitter and other embeds)
• Classic view: it’s old-school Ars, but better.
• And of course, full-text RSS feed, subscriber-only forum access, and PDF downloads.

If you go with the $25 Ars Pro, you’ll still get the no-ad, no-script experience along with Classic view, full-text RSS feeds, access to all of our forums, and PDF downloads.

To receive 20 percent off Ars Pro++, use the coupon code “springPlusPlus20” when you subscribe.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1663539