BTW, I agree, but I think the opposite is the case. I strongly suspect that in fact we'll see more content as the ad economy collapses. People don't understand

BTW, I agree, but I think the opposite is the case. I strongly suspect that in fact we'll see more content as the ad economy collapses. People don't understand just how much content is driven without ads for other reasons (like HN itself) and once more and more content gets locked behind subscription walls that indeed opens the door for free content to thrive. Combine this with strong, pervasive ad blocking and what you have is a recipe for the return of the free web.