When posting, there are 3 options related to how a post manages payment: 50%/50% payment, decline payment, or 100% SP.

I suggest the introduction of a new option: "minimum comment fee". If author chooses that, then commenting will incur a minimum fee (0.1 STEEM?) or a custom one, as high as the author wants, set only for that post. If author chooses this option (which may be combined with any of the 3 above) then commenters won't be able to comment unless they pay that fee.

The comment fee may go to various places and, if this suggestion gets traction, I suggest a poll to crowdsource ideas. A few suggestions:

* comment fee goes to Steemit fund dedicated to the creation of new accounts (hence supporting the growth of the platform)
* comment fee goes to author 100% (as a form of tipping)
* comment fee is split between author and all commenters, on top of curation rewards

The rationale behind this suggestion is that many low-quality, irrelevant or spammy comments won't be posted at all, with a positive impact on the blockchain size and overall members experience.

The above text was posted identically, as an [open issue](https://github.com/steemit/steem/issues/1784), to the Steem GitHub repo. 

If you want to contribute or debate, I would love to hear your ideas.
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_I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at [Dragos Roua](http://dragosroua.com) where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua._
<center>
![Dragos Roua](http://dragosroua.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/bamf-e1448824881306.png)</center>
***
<center>_You can also vote for me as witness here:
https://steemit.com/~witnesses_</center>
***
_If you're new to Steemit, you may find these articles relevant (that's also part of my witness activity to support new members of the platform)_:
* [Rewards: Were Does The Money Come From?](https://steemit.com/steemit/@dragosroua/steemit-newbie-faq-rewards-were-does-the-money-come-from)
* [Netiquette: How To Avoid Being A Steem Douche?](https://steemit.com/steem/@dragosroua/steemit-newbie-faq-netiquette-how-to-avoid-being-a-steem-douche)
* [Witnesses: What Are They And Why Should You Care?](https://steemit.com/steemit/@dragosroua/steemit-newbie-faq-witnesses-what-are-they-and-why-should-you-care)
* [How Can I Mine Steem And What CPU / GPU Power Do I Need For That?](https://steemit.com/steemit/@dragosroua/steemit-newbie-faq-how-can-i-mine-steem-and-what-cpu-gpu-power-do-i-need-for-that)
* [The Beginner Guide To Not Getting Hacked On Steemit](https://steemit.com/steemit/@dragosroua/the-beginner-guide-to-not-getting-hacked-on-steemit)