Hackernews comments will continue to devolve and become more Reddit-like on the whole. Someone will begin working on an alternative that will make them rich in 2024.
Given that HN doesn't make money, I doubt that any alternative would either.
It helps make money for its owners. It's not here for charity.
yes by primarily acting as an advertising platform for ycombinator companies /thought leaders involved there as well, although we do get other awesome content here and the community is awesome, so i can say that i don't mind paying that "fee" to be able to enjoy this site.