[gojomo]

I shudder to think how bad the economy would have to be before PG started 'monetizing' HN.

Still, as mentioned when Ligertail was discussed under its former name [1], I like the Ligertail idea of mixed earned/paid placement in general, for other sites -- it has shades of Goto.com and Stumbleupon.

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=382626

[staunch]

I'm totally in favor of him monetizing HN. A few 125x125 ads could probably generate $5k-$20k/mo given the traffic/audience here. It could go to charity and would give a nice spot for HN users to buy ads for an audience they may want.

[gojomo]

While I don't think it likely, I actually agree with your analysis -- that relevant, measured ads could be a net benefit to the community.