You deserve credit for saying that so even-keeledly. Usually people just do the same thing back.

It would indeed be ridiculous; also stupid and counterproductive. Those could be clues to the fact that we didn't do it.

Some of your comments are getting killed by software filters. Those are tuned more strictly for new accounts, for reasons which aren't hard to figure out.

I don't think any mods even saw your comments (before now)

Well, thank you software filters. Are you sure they're working correctly because all my comments except my first are getting killed. What did I do? This is no fun.

TL;DR: Do you have a stance on HN's change in culture?

It seems like HN comments are shifting from technical focus toward:

* Early Reddit's low-effort but tame "snark"

* Aggressively moralizing posts dismissing sardonic criticism as dangerous mental illness

I haven't seen much of OP's style lately, especially since n-gate[1] went inactive.

I'm wondering whether that's a bad thing. Although the tone is hostile on the surface, there's usually some aspiration toward competence associated with it.

[1]: http://n-gate.com/

I don't think it's changed much. I think perceptions of the kind you're describing (HN is turning into reddit, comments are getting worse, etc.) are more a statement about the perceiver than about HN itself, which to me seems same-as-it-ever-was. I don't know, however.

TL;DR: I think you're right. Ty for maintaining HN!

> are more a statement about the perceiver than about HN itself

I may have some rose tint to my oldest memories of lurking HN. Not only was I younger, but I was also seeing hours-old threads instead of comments arriving in real-time before any sorting or flagging.

In other words, thank you for maintaining the site all these years.

Yes exactly! These perceptions are strongly conditioned by each generation's "rose tint".

It's ok though, because the perception "HN isn't what it used to be" is somehow part of the overall system.

n-gate was the best. Referencing it was always worth the downvotes.

I get we are semi-autistic nerds and can't appreciate comedy/satire/sarcasm, but comedy/satire/sarcasm is a potent means of criticism and analysis, especially since we are in an ever-increasing torrent of bullshit.

HN is a bit too serious I think. More comedy would be better than the usual cynicism which can bleed over into your mindset even after visiting the site. You are what you read, after all. Maybe even this comment comes off as cynical; no doubt I’ve been infected too.

What the world needs very badly in the generative spam world is a healthy dose of skepticism.

What qualifies as skepticism versus cynicism is often in the eye of the beholder.