It was never that great to begin with, but now it blocks me because I use a VPN, and worse, it forces you to create an account if you want to do anything more than a superficial search. So much for free and open inquiry!

Another example of this (surprise, surprise) is amazon. You used to be able to look through all their reviews, but if you want to look at more than the first couple you have to have an account and sign in. Back in the day, you didn't need an account for either of these things. Pisses me off to no end.