
Ask HN: Would you pay to use Reddit? - workerdee
If reddit had fees, how much would you realistically be willing to pay before going elsewhere?
======
27182818284
No. I'm not a big fan anymore. I'm in the eight-ish year club and I can't even
talk myself into buying gold as a charitable thing.

Its value has decreased substantially to me with time. My answer to this would
have been very different years ago, but now the site is too full of what I
consider to be mediocre content that seems weighted really high. For example
common expressions used over and over like "nature you scary" should be given
a huge penalty hit. For goodness sake, looking at the site in an incognito
window right now not only is a story on the frontpage twice, it is _the same
URL_ with one different query parameter.

~~~
anthony_franco
Complaining about the front page of Reddit is like complaining about how
newsstands are just filled with gossip magazines.

Of course the majority will be for the common denominator. But luckily there
are some great subreddits, just like there's many great niche magazines.

Check out reddit.com/r/truereddit to begin with. It's probably closest to what
reddit was back in the days.

~~~
27182818284
>Complaining about the front page of Reddit is like complaining about how
newsstands are just filled with gossip magazines.

I don't pay for those either.

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Yadi
Yeah I would actually pay for it!

I'm a freelancer consultant and I get decent clients reaching out to me from
Reddit.

I read about CompSci and Machine Learning almost on daily basis and the
subreddits that I visit help me on that stand point a lot.

But here is the deal! People Love freaking drama and some thrive on it. So
whenever there is a 0.1% of drama it gets amplified.

Also one other thing! I respect the HN community, but I've seen harsher
feedback & more harassment here than Reddit.

PS: I'm a 5 years club member on Reddit.

~~~
S4M
May I ask, where do you generally go to get clients' interest on reddit?

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yetanotheracc
I would pay not to use Reddit (or HN, for that matter). I would say..

$500 a month for a solution that would make me do something semi-productive
instead of spending time on those websites.

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jpindar
No. But I would be glad to pay for something identical to reddit without all
the hatred and childishness.

How much? Expensive enough to discourage those who have nothing to say but
memes.

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1arity
This would be a great idea. CC verification could secure identity, and a
"civil society" like system could spring up and effect real civil penalties
for misbehaviour. Reddit's "moral code" is impotent without the means to
effect meaningful enforcements. So, Reddit is going to continue to be a den of
iniquity and sin until people pay to use it, and pay more to use it badly.

I'd recharge every now and then so I could keep commenting and voting. ( 1
cent per vote, 2 cents to comment, 5 cents to down vote ( and downvotee gets
it ) ), and penalties ranging in 10s - 1000s of dollars based on severity of
misbehaviour. Some kind of judicial review system would also work to establish
consistency.

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daviross
Reddit? No. Another internet community? Sure. I already do. (Then again, I
wouldn't be-paid to use Reddit either. I'm not opposed to paid communities, in
fact I rather like the idea. But hanging it on Reddit _(y /n)_ seems a bit
restrictive)

~~~
workerdee
Hi daviross, would you mind disclosing what internet communities you pay for?

~~~
daviross
Metafilter, mainly. ($5 signup fee, and then I chip in $5/month to help
support it)

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ABach8
As a current college student that operates in a community where I see a number
of my fellow classmates using reddit online during class I can say that they
would not pay for directly for the service. These days there are too many
supplements to Reddit that entertain me just as much if not more.

Although I do believe that Reddit is a very established and well liked website
that would still see success if they charged a subscription fee, just not on
the same scale of popularity that they currently do.

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stephengillie
I'm not a big fan of reddit. But I would realistically be willing to pay for
ad-free communities. I used to be an Imgur Pro member before they stopped
accepting payments. I would gladly become one again.

They charged $3 a month or $24 a year. Considering I pay Amazon $80 a year for
a service I barely use, I should be willing to pay a community about that
much.

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miguelrochefort
I wouldn't pay for Reddit if others had to pay to contribute to it.

I would make it free for contributors, and paid for lurkers (i.e., monetize
karma).

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afridi
Wouldn't pay a dollar, since most of the communities I use Reddit for are now
also active on Facebook + Slack.

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jordsmi
If it kept all of the same people and info, yes.

If I was going to pay just for there become a free alternative elsewhere, no.

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ErikRogneby
Nope. I don't use it now.

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kentt
$5/mo. I don't go on it often, but it's interesting enough.

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nonkool
With a better UX, more control around quality, more relevance to me - yes.

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spacemanmatt
No. I think fees would send readers and contributors scurrying, too.

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Pr0ducer
Nope. I'd find something else after $0-1/Month

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andrewmcwatters
Garbage site, garbage community.

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anon3_
Reddit is a tool. It's software; a middleman. The value is provided by the
group.

Take a view at the attitude of the current admins:

> Well, now she's gone (you did it reddit!), and /u/spez has the moral
> authority as a co-founder to move ahead with the purge. We tried to let you
> govern yourselves and you failed, so now The Man is going to set some Rules.
> Admittedly, I can't say I'm terribly upset.

source:
[http://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/3dautm/conten...](http://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/3dautm/content_policy_update_ama_thursday_july_16th_1pm/ct3n7hc)

How would you feel if Microsoft Word started criticizing people based on the
content they written? This is a thing?

Reddit was just a tool. The admins need to step out of the way. I don't care
if there are "creepy" reddits.

The entitled and pompous attitude of admins is so elitist it's sick. You're a
forum. You're not gods. You're not priests.

