It's all relative... Having participated in many online communities starting from back in dial-up BBSes and message networks, it's as healthy as any I've experi

It's all relative... Having participated in many online communities starting from back in dial-up BBSes and message networks, it's as healthy as any I've experienced. I don't remember how I got into HN... I stay because I happen to appreciate the comments, often I get more from the comment system than the actual articles. There are a lot of people with diverse technical knowledge and insight. It's far from perfect, but it's still healthier in that you get a relatively diverse set of topics and opinions on those topics in a mostly rational discussion. There are some subjects that will see an unbalanced level of moderation based more on opinion than hard fact, that said it's still better than most. I think the only area that tends to really flow emotional is when the topic of politics comes up. People are very tribal in terms of what they believe and support and will up/down-vote instinctively, regardless of merit. It tends to cut in every direction. I would love to see counts of up and down votes on a given post, as I'm sure there are many that while they are -2 to +2 have seen many votes in both directions... All in all, I think the moderators are relatively fair in their disposition of the rules such that they are, and in general fosters discussion in good faith. I've seen many opposing views discussed at length, and don't recall anything that went over the line (calls for violence or personal assault), with minimal ad hominem.