Sometimes people ask why there is not a free, ad-supported option for Satori Reader. Since our goal is to make Japanese as accessible as possible, this is definitely something we have considered. However, after careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that supporting the site via ads would not enable the kind of learning experience we strive to provide. In this post, I’ll explain a little more about our reasoning.

Learning a language takes focus. At least for the time that you have set aside to study, you need a clean, distraction-free space where you can think deeply, and exclusively, about what you are learning.

Ad-supported sites provide the very opposite of that. Advertisers are paying good money for your attention. They will do everything they possibly can to seize it. So there is an inherent conflict there with the focus you need to study effectively.

And once a site is ad-supported, the site operators have a perverse incentive to cram as many ads as they possibly can into it. After all, one more ad per page is one more possibility for revenue.

Which learning experience do you prefer? Here’s Satori Reader as it currently looks:

Even without ads, there’s a lot of information to take in here.

Okay. Deep breath.

Now let’s imagine it with ads:

Even if you are very adept at averting your eyes from ads, these micro-intrusions into your focus add up. You have to scan over each part of the page and determine which part is an advertisement and which part is something important.

That’s just not the way to study effectively. And that is why we show zero advertising anywhere on Satori Reader — not in the story text, not in the user discussion, not anywhere. (We do refer to third-party study resources on our Resources page. But we don’t think this will interfere with your study sessions.)

We want to be your island of calm, where you can come and focus and and learn Japanese with us. Even if it’s just for a few minutes a day — especially if it’s just for a few minutes a day — we want to give you the best possible learning experience. We truly appreciate your support, and we we look forward to continuing to study with you!