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The solution is publishers with trusted brands.

• Silhouette 9y ago
  Perhaps, but then how do you build such a brand if your revenue streams depend on things like number of page impressions? There's a reason the modern Web is plagued by clickbait titles, articles divided over many pages, ad networks and all the intrusive monitoring that goes with them, pop-up/pop-under messages and all their modern variations, affiliate links with varying levels of transparency about using them, and so on. If we want trusted sources of information and advice, don't we have to start by eliminating external influences that inherently affect how trustworthy a source can possibly be? In any case, I had in mind something a little more ambitious than just a branding exercise. For example, perhaps it would be helpful if we could establish some sort of persona and web-of-trust infrastructure, so that experts with sufficient credentials and peer recognition in some field can assert those credentials in some verifiable way when commenting on relevant matters. Then perhaps we could also establish some standards for sites presenting contributions from those experts to present any relevant credentials concurrently, so that whether you're reading an article on a high profile news site or just a casual comment on a discussion forum like HN, you have same way to know how much credibility the person you're reading has in this area.
  • Eerie 9y ago
    >Perhaps, but then how do you build such a brand if your revenue streams depend on things like number of page impressions? Any brand that depends on page impressions will inevitably evolve into toxic garbage. The solution is content you pay for. Subscriptions, Patreon, donations, or mix thereof.
    • Silhouette 9y ago
      Indeed. It was a rhetorical question. :-)