Yes, I think this is an idea that's at least worthwhile experimenting with. Invitation based membership can be quite a powerful mechanism to ensure that HN rema

Yes, I think this is an idea that's at least worthwhile experimenting with. Invitation based membership can be quite a powerful mechanism to ensure that HN remains a high-quality and civil place. A place where even the most controversial topics can be discussed without incivility, trolling, spamming and such. Metafilter and Something Awful - IMHO two of the most successful general communities online - use another mechanism to weed out unwanted people: paid membership. Not only does this keep people out, but it has the psychological effect that members make an greater effort to live up to respective community's guidelines and ethos. Now, I would gladly pay a one-time fee of around 10-15 USD to be a HN member, but I suspect that this solution wouldn't be accepted by many people. That leaves us with invitations. Knowing that I'm in some way responsible for the people that I invite to the community and that their actions reflects back at me, I will exercise more caution when handing out invitations. Regards, WarTheatre