I use HN because it's the one place I can find a variety of intelligent discussions on different topics that don't devolve in name calling, flame wars, doxing,

I use HN because it's the one place I can find a variety of intelligent discussions on different topics that don't devolve in name calling, flame wars, doxing, etc. The latter is why I only use Reddit for pop culture related topics, since the political and cultural ones there devolve into absolute hell. Same with their equivalents on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. At least on HN, you know that everything from a discussion on web design best practices to a talk on the changing role of journalism in the modern world will have some form of civility to it. And that the people involved will be at least trying to have an intelligent conversation rather than fighting over red team vs blue team tribal politics. I also find it one of the few places online where I can find, how best to say this, obscure/personal sites, articles and content written by people knowledgeable or passionate about a topic. Links on Reddit are about 40% mainstream media outlets, 50% YouTube/Twitch and 10% stuff from other sources. The links on Hacker News are far more varied, and far more supportive towards independent creators.