Hacker News Reader

It's still a site that is free to sign up

And hey, I'm unemployed at the moment. I'm a zero income earner. And yet, I'm still here.

And? There's a reason your here and it's the fact people in the industry earning paychecks while messing with this stuff are posting here.

Not sure what you mean. HN comments certainly have influence on others' perceptions of different kinds of tech. I can't point you to hard data other than "advertising works." I know I'm susceptible to it.

> You're telling me that you'd be surprised that people would be paid to boost messages on HN...

Huh?

> "It would not surprise me in the least if people were paid to boost on HN.

I guess I should say it this way.

"It would not surprise me if I held an apple in the air and let go of it, that it would hit the ground".