I didn't say that content should cost $3 to stop spam. My point was clearly that not enough people aren't even willing to pay that. That price was in referenc

I didn't say that content should cost $3 to stop spam. My point was clearly that not enough people aren't even willing to pay that. That price was in reference to what people value. If people value fun web content that's not currently being served to them, they should pay something for it. The vast majority of people simply won't, even if they're spending 1/5 their paycheck on Starbucks. If you think I wouldn't pay for HN if I had no other choice, you'd be mistaken. But if no one is willing to spend hundreds a year for web content that is not dominated by spam, ads, bots, etc., then spam, ads, and bots is what they will get.