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Here in New Zealand with our English cultural background we also frown on tipping but that has never made me skeptical of the V4V model that SNs was trying to implement.
Why? Because our skepticism of tipping relates to the fact that where it is widely used tipping goes to support a low base wage for workers- whereas our culture argues that decent wages negate the need for tipping.
In contrast the V4V model is designed to operate in stead of advertising or subscription payments funding content.
So this would require a significant change in mindset wherever participants come from and in the case of SNs appears to be failing- as subsidies paid by founder/s seem to have reduced or ceased and number of users seems to be declining.
but this does not mean the model cannot work- just that perhaps it might need to be refined to have a chance of working.
I was always massively sceptical, as I think the idea of paying & receiving money for speech is inherently flawed.
I've always found this site very US American flavoured, and the USA is obsessed with tipping, while a large majority of the world is not, and finds it a distasteful practice.
I'm not completely sure of this but it seemed to me that when this site was solely using BTC via lightning (i.e. prior to the Cowboy Credits days) it was receiving regular injections of credit into its tipping system from its VC funders. And so the seeming 'success' of the model was propped up by this outside, unsustainable source. So again, no, I don't think a discussion forum founded on a pay/reward money system can, ultimately, succeed.