Aneesh, it sounds to me like you've been part of the 1% club for a long time. I applaud you for that. Without people like you, HN wouldn't be my homepage.

But the point is that the vast majority of HN users are likely not contributors. Instead, they're passive visitors to the site. With respect to that group, unless you don't want those users contributing, there's definitely a free rider problem.

Although I certainly don't think the barrier is unique to HN (although downvoting adds some pressure to come with something decent). I was just wondering what creative strategies people have used to get people to leave their first post or comment. Because I think once you get that first comment, you get the user hooked (b/c then they experience the added value of the discussion you mention).