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The 'service' saves me money.

If I see it's a numeric I don't bother buying the paper. 😆

Dodging the fare on a train would save me money in the short term, but would no doubt see me hauled before the Beak.

Qusling, I am not too lazy to subscribe, nor am I unwilling to pay. Tatter's Friday evening deliveries just mean I get to look at the puzzle on a Friday evening rather than a Saturday morning (when my paid for copy arrives). During the first lockdown, life seemed inordinately grim for many of us. There were so many restrictions - no trips out, no theatre, no quick drinks in the pub. The early access to Listener was an unexpected treat, appreciated by many. I have never thought of it as any form of Covid public service and my conscience is perfectly clear.

Bobby, I think you misunderstand. I buy the paper every week. I would normally look to see if it's a numeric but if I know it is, I don't need to look. (I only buy it for the Listener, I don't need the rest as I get the i and FT too on Saturdays).

Apolgies Granama 1. I thought that you were referring to Tatters' "service". I still think £24 per month is a bargain. For example, when the dreaded numerical comes I just go back 20 years and print off a Listener that I will almost certainly have no recollection of. On which subject; why can't the numerical appear as a quarterly bonus puzzle? - it could still count towards the yearly stats

Malone, you are unwilling to pay to access the puzzle on a Friday, so my point was valid. You could, but choose not to. Of course many people who use the link still buy the paper on a Saturday. Equally there will be many who don’t. You clearly feel that because you buy the paper on a Saturday you should be entitled to see the Listener on a Friday for nothing. It seems the Times doesn’t agree

Qusiling, I certainly don't feel that because I buy the paper on a Saturday I am entitled to see the Listener, free, on a Friday - I have no sense of 'entitlement', none at all. I am happy to see the crossword, but will be equally happy when life becomes more 'normal' and I don't have to think of early access to a puzzle as a treat of the week. I'd prefer my pre-Covid life, with a Saturday Listener - and I'll cope with the post-Covid life, with a Saturday Listener.

Bobby, for the avoidance of doubt, I was referring to Tatters 'service', as in when the link is posted it often says 'it's numeric' so I don't need to peek in the paper on a Saturday morning before deciding to buy. I don't do numerics and I only buy papers on a Saturday so 4 Times is £10/month for 4 puzzles (the rest of the paper is of little interest and often gets recycled unread). I start the puzzles on Saturday after getting the papers and never submit them.
I've almost completed the last few hundred Azeds so I may contemplate paying £24 a month for access to the Listener archive when I've caught up with those.

Out of interest, and as the statute of limitations must be up by now, I'd be interested to know if anyone else had the same experience as I did when the Times discontinued the Crossword Club only subscription (When was that? 2015? Before then?). I took out a year's subscription to the whole paper, as was required, which I shared with a friend (about £60 each, I think). A while after, I absent-mindedly used my old Crossword Club log-in, and it still worked. Indeed it continued to work for over two years, which meant I didn't have to pay for the puzzles for quite a long time. Very naughty, but I saw it as revenge for the dreaded 404 Green Parrot (Crossword Club subscribers from that time will know what I mean).

When the paywall finally caught up with me, I was happy to stump up, and still do. I don't live in the UK so I get the Times for £10 a month. It was £5 and they doubled it recently, but it's still good value. One of the few exports not spoiled by Brexit!

The last time this issue came up, the poster concerned had appeared out of nowhere with an agenda and was on a horse so high you needed a telescope to see its fetlock. This time, Bobby and Quisling make their points in a well-argued and polite manner. I have no strong feelings either way, so I'll leave it to others to slug it out - but I hope it won't disturb the general good nature of this forum.

I don’t wish to upset the bonhomie of the forum, and I recognise I am in a small minority, but perhaps someone can explain why what Tatters does is not a breach of copyright. If they can, I will very happily concede that I am in the wrong. If it is, but is argued to be justified by the exceptionality of our COVID situation, I have sympathy with that point of view. And if that is so I agree with Malone that we will all be happy when we can return to a time when he no longer posts his link.