Another take is that those running HN know what kind of forum they want (one that promotes community) and understand and accept that trade-off. 'dang has writte

Another take is that those running HN know what kind of forum they want (one that promotes community) and understand and accept that trade-off. 'dang has written about this at length, so I think that's very likely the case. That's not one you're willing to make and you adjust your behavior accordingly. HN can't be all things to all people. And that's okay. You clearly find some value in HN as it is because you continue to use it. Something to consider: changes you might like to see may very well change the community as a whole to make it less a place you want to be. Hard to say, without running the experiment, but one of the hazards is that running the experiment could irreparably damage/change HN. And rebooting it would be likely nigh impossible. (If it were easy, we'd all create the fora we wanted.)