> If you had to put up a deposit to buy on eBay or to get a Gmail account or to post on Facebook or Hacker News, few would bother. MetaFilter charges a $5 fee

> If you had to put up a deposit to buy on eBay or to get a Gmail account or to post on Facebook or Hacker News, few would bother. MetaFilter charges a $5 fee to create an account, which is necessary to post (but not to read). This is probably a major contributor to the quality of discussions there, since it means doing something that would get you banned has a real cost.