Unfortunetly democracy does not work for big populations and digg.com is best example of it. Once it reachs critical mass we won't be able to police it just by voting, some level of moderation will be needed. The longer we delay the reach the better, so I vote for invite-only YC. MHO.
> The longer we delay the reach the better, so I vote for invite-only YC. MHO.
Well technically YC is invite-only already. You need to apply and go through an interview process.
I'm being slightly facetious, but there is a broader point in that - Part of the reason for HN was to build a community and to let YC get a feel for the people it takes into the programme.
Making HN invite-only would create a limited gene pool of startup talent - And whilst it's just my own conjecture, I suspect it would stagnate (not in terms of the individuals, but in the diversity of the ideas/topics/beliefs).
Part of the excitement of the startup area is getting something from left-field - someone in their garage building something nobody expected. Invite-only seems to go against that ethos.
