[TAForObvReasons]

YC does two things that aren't directly making money but are definitely helping their portfolio companies:

1) Special ad positions with front-page placement (currently #22 is "Willing (YC S15) Is Hiring a UI / UX Designer" https://willing.com/designer , a privileged post that can't be voted or commented on)

2) The moderators can and sometimes do intervene by removing certain comments that are critical of YC companies.

Comments make the forum more interesting to the community, which increases eyeballs and makes the front page spots more valuable. And shaping the discourse helps with damage control when necessary.

[rapnie]

..and collect your personal data, non-directly-identifiable data or otherwise, from both of which they may earn some money (if i understand the privacy policy correctly.. am no lawyer, though)

[justinjlynn]

Nothing is free. If you aren't paying, you're the product.

[jjeaff]

Actually, quite a lot is free. I have a free tier in my saas product. I don't monetize it in any way. I simply use it as a gateway to paying customers. I think there is probably a great deal of this going on.

[justinjlynn]

Personally, I'm surprised that's a controversial statement.

[Letmesleep69]

Its not on this forum. Its so common as to be a cliche.

[owlninja]

It's eye-roll inducing at this point.

[justinjlynn]

That's probably true but it seems so easy for people to forget.