The Verge’s article about the “sucky web” is controversial because almost every site on the Internet, including the Verge, suffers from it.
What’s frustrating, though, is that it conflates a complex problem—publishing industry business models—with web/browser infrastructure.
Figuring out how to escape the “One more metrics system/ad slot/partner script” trap without going into the red is a tough problem.
Lots of sites have reached (or blown past) the local maxima with inventory and even partner ads, but lack a clear path to another model.
This isn’t to say that it’s unsolveable, or that there aren’t bad actors. But it’s not a battle between “good web” and “greedy web” either.