> I'd much rather go through the turnstile, as awkward as it can be if you've got a suitcase, etc, than be forced to watch advertisements during my subway ride...

That's quite a false dichotomy, since the service clearly can exist independently of DRM (both technically and economically).

Furthermore, this dichotomy doesn't work either in your analogy (there are ads on the subway, and yet I still have to pay) or in the real case we're talking about (Hulu+ is paid service locked down by DRM, and it still shows advertisements).

No, DRM does not enable the service because it's not an essential part of it. The service could work without DRM all the same while being ethical and more user friendly at the same time. DRM is like a sickness attached to an otherwise healthy product. It only becomes better when you remove it.

The turnstile is actually a great analogy for DRM, including all of its flaws. And the turnstile isn't what allows subway service to exist.

A turnstile isn't very hard to jump over. If the turnstile is the only enforcement mechanism, anyone who wants a free subway ride just has to vault over (or perhaps also glance around to see if there are cops nearby, google whether there are monitored cameras, or pull a hoodie over their face).

There's an alternative, though: most places in Europe, there are no turnstiles, and nothing preventing you from getting on public transit without paying. It's a "trust but verify" system: you are required to validate your ticket before you get on the train, and occasionally someone comes around the train to check if you have a valid ticket, and issues a fine if you don't have one.

With this method, the users aren't inconvenienced, enforcement costs are reduced, and everyone's happy. With the turnstile, you get massive queues at busy stations during rush hour, and by making this one mechanical device your sole point of enforcement, you've actually made it more likely that people who don't want to pay will cheat the system.

What is happening here with the reply links? Apparently you two can still post but nobody else can (at least I cannot). Is that the new policy from a while ago?

As it happens, a lot of subways don't have turnstiles or ads, but instead periodically check for tickets after you're on board. I don't think that's terribly relevant here, though.

Some places don't use turnstiles. Instead, you voluntarily validate your ticket with a machine. To ensure compliance, random checks are performed, with a large penalty if you don't have a valid ticket. It's a pretty nice system.

Similarly, some places don't use DRM. I don't think it's made it into the video space yet, but legitimate DRM-free music is common. It seems to work pretty well.

To say that DRM enables the service to exist only works if there's no other, better way. But there is, and the only reason we don't get to have it is because of customer-hostile policies from media companies.