Comment by pesus
14 hours ago
That subscription fee is just too big of an obstacle in a time when everything has a subscription and is still often degrading in quality. Seems like an unsolvable chicken and egg scenario though, since relying on advertising to make it free would just result in the same issues as everything else.
It's quite literally this. It costs more than free and people don't want that. We're poor and poorer and everyone is overburdened by subscriptions for everything. I get that HN is in a rich bubble but most folks can't afford rent, food, and a search engine.
> costs more than free and people don't want that. We're poor and poorer and everyone is overburdened by subscriptions for everything
But that’s also the answer on preference. Google is good enough for most people. For everyone else, there can be a paid premium layer. Similar to news, this might be the equilibrium, not an anomaly.