Monetizing content does not increase its “quality” in some absolute sense.

Monetizing content causes creators to create the content that monetizes the best.

Long thoughtful posts may be the highest “quality” across multiple dimensions, but a meme or witty joke is likely to garner a tip from more people because it’s more accessible, digestible, and can pander to baser emotions easier.

I don’t think any micro transactions based reward system for commenters will create a dynamic diverse flourishing community of communities like Reddit. It will feed on whatever gets the tips until only a certain demographic sticks around to tip each other and receive tips (aka patting each other on the back)

Reddit’s largely anonymous rewardless system means you only comment if you actually care. Money can’t buy that.