When I worked on HN we actually talked about this and specifically decided against it. Currently, everything on HN is public, except for password (hashes), ema

When I worked on HN we actually talked about this and specifically decided against it. Currently, everything on HN is public, except for password (hashes), emails, and who [voted for|flagged|vouched] what. If all HN user data leaked right now, it would be a bummer, but not very scandalous. We didn't want to be trusted with private communication. We're not perfect, and it's easier not to leak data you don't have =P