News Sites Start Charging Readers to Comment on Articles

> Not everyone who wants to leave a comment has to pay. SolidOpinion leaves the bulk of the comments section to operate as it always has, but it adds three slots at the top for “promoted comments,” which can be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Let's say you can't use promoted comments for advertising spam, as that would defeat the quality-control purpose of the system.

What incentive then would people actually bid for a promoted comment spot?

Well when a company starts charging customers to get the right to comment on their articles, expect less people to comment on articles.

Not everyone wants to pay to use a website. Even if it means they can read or comment on articles.

Many websites are going to the subscription business plan that newspapers used to have before the World Wide Web became popular and offered free access in exchange for viewing advertising.