I'm glad you replied; I'm interested in this debate. I agree that content monetization is an important problem that ought to be solved in order to maintain qua

I'm glad you replied; I'm interested in this debate. I agree that content monetization is an important problem that ought to be solved in order to maintain quality of information. I disagree that current advertising models have elevated the quality of content. Fake news websites (literally - a made-up .coms that have BS stories, the equivalent of tabloids) exist specifically because advertising monetizes clicks/eyeballs, and so clickbait is the optimal strategy. I disagree that moderating ads will produce better ads, because I believe ads run counter to a well-functioning information system. An example: HN is an information system that's designed to put high quality links in front of the user. A paid placement makes it possible to skip the votes mechanism, thereby skipping the system's regulatory structure. If your link deserves to be at the top, it will get there the same way all other links do. I disagree that advertising or paywall are the only two options, though I will concede those are the only two that have happened so far.