Yes, but it's also reasonable to say that HN is a distraction, and the more time you spend on it, the more you tune in to the various tribes and trends and stuf

Yes, but it's also reasonable to say that HN is a distraction, and the more time you spend on it, the more you tune in to the various tribes and trends and stuff -- whether they actually exist, or not. (Every attempt so far to objectively measure any decline in discourse on HN has failed, so I try to remain consciously skeptical of any claims to that effect.) I do this as a conscious self-correction now. Any time I find myself getting wound up by something on HN -- which, fortunately, isn't very often any more -- I try to leave it for a few days, or more. When I come back, it's magically a better place. Not that I want raganwald to go away for a while. His name is one that I appreciate seeing in comment threads. :-)