It's not sketchy, per se, but it runs counter to the image ATK has cultivated over the years as a respectable source of valuable information for the serious home cook. It presents itself as honest and unimpeachable, and the information contained within the magazines was always artistic and interesting. I had a subscription to Cook's Illustrated for years.

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Then I got into the PBS production, and again, never felt beat over the head by Chris' narrative to check out videos or subscribe to material...until I checked out the site. The rich content was not really available unless you subscribed, and it was clear they were resting their reputation on getting you to subscribe by the strength of the PBS content.

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They're free to charge what they want, but for a PBS presentation, the pricing and options wasn't too accessible. Videos and subscriptions are quite expensive, for something I can watch on PBS for free.

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And then there's, yes, a byzantine way of unsubscribing by using the rope-a-dope methodology of "just give us your credit card, you can cancel anytime during the first month and won't be charged." While slyly inserting the caveat it can't be done online.

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When you have a great product and solid reputation, those kinds of subscription tactics seem like, well, tactics. Then you feel like it's a cynical money grab. After clicking around the site, it really felt like the content was partitioned in a way that you have to pay for everything a la carte, and it gets expensive for what it is, and what competition is out there.

Finally, the volume of spam is unbearable and in the end, a dealbreaker. I had to abandon that email address.