HN collects links from sites I couldn't hope to think about. nor could I hope to know they existed (a good example is the site about the searchlights the other

HN collects links from sites I couldn't hope to think about. nor could I hope to know they existed (a good example is the site about the searchlights the other day), and also sites that I don't follow because in general I'm not interested in the topic except for the odd article that ends up in first page here. So to me, HN actually has a huge value as a news site. As for the discussions, I make it a rule not to reply to comments—though sometimes, very rarely, I break it when I think I can truly contribute to the discussion. As for gathering the gist of the conversation, I usually read the three top comments to see what the most commonly agreed perspectives are, and the downvoted comments (with their replies, if any) to see what has caused dissent. It has worked for me so far in getting different perspectives of almost every article.