HN has a way higher standard for comments than Reddit. Definitely attributable to the mod team and their tooling. I think the tools still aren’t there yet, though. Tying karma to money or monetization will lead to higher quality. For example, you don’t have crude people who swear at a country club.
Country clubs, and anything that requires a large up-front cost for membership excludes a wide swath of people from participation. A wide range of viewpoints will result in better content over all, even if it lets some low-quality content get in.
