By presenting a barrier to entry for accessing the content, the volume of discussion is reduced since a smaller portion of the community can get to it. This is

By presenting a barrier to entry for accessing the content, the volume of discussion is reduced since a smaller portion of the community can get to it. This is particularly undesirable when a free alternative may exist. The quality of the discussion may also reduce, as the non-subscribers can only respond to commenters without benefit of context of the original material. Should enough of these posts exist, the effects could impact the community at-large; resulting in a decrease in diversity of opinion, and the popularity and relevance of HN as a site. This, in turn, could give rise to, or cause a traffic shift towards, more open competitors.