A bothersome condition is spreading all over and I am here to urge people to recognize and resist. I refer to subscription-itis, also known as rentimia. As I have mentioned before, some blogs are written to sell things. Selling things is a human activity that has enriched people both by selling and by purchasing. If I buy a pound of rice from you, I get rice to eat and you get money. Anything that can be used more than once, that is not consumed or exhausted by a single use might be rented.
I imagine our merchants and marketers can get quite imaginative about rentals and subscriptions. Maybe you like our silverware. You can rent it for a monthly fee which will be charged to the credit card account you give us. Maybe you would like the shoes we sell. You can rent them for a monthly fee that will be charged to the same account. Come into the florist shop and we will furnish you with a nice bouquet for your table if you have a subscription with us. We offer daisy subscriptions and violet subscriptions but you can upgrade to a rose subscription or to our premium all-flower level where you can have any flower in our shop.
I don't want to rent an English-Finnish dictionary if I don't use it. I am interested in a subscription to an internet signal but not in access to that high level space telescope or in a team of huskies.
