> I don't see how asking people to make 3 or 5 submissions before gaining commenting privileges would be a big hindrance.
Someone like Alan Kay or Peter Norvig (to pick real examples) is not going to jump through hoops to comment here. They're going to hit that barrier and bail. Ditto for project creators and article authors, who show up to respond to comments about their work. Ditto for legit throwaway accounts, when someone has relevant information that they need not to post under their regular identity.
> I can't really evaluate this as it's so vague.
You're suggesting a fundamental design change. That is too risky, the gain is dubious, and we have more pressing things to worry about.
> you don't impose any penalty at all on serial abusers
Well, now we're in a cycle and I need to raise an exception. Obviously we impose a penalty on serial abusers: we ban them.
Someone like Alan Kay or Peter Norvig (to pick real examples) is not going to jump through hoops to comment here. They're going to hit that barrier and bail. Ditto for project creators and article authors, who show up to respond to comments about their work. Ditto for legit throwaway accounts, when someone has relevant information that they need not to post under their regular identity.
> I can't really evaluate this as it's so vague.
You're suggesting a fundamental design change. That is too risky, the gain is dubious, and we have more pressing things to worry about.
> you don't impose any penalty at all on serial abusers
Well, now we're in a cycle and I need to raise an exception. Obviously we impose a penalty on serial abusers: we ban them.