I don't see the same names around as much, I am not an old old member but I am well past the two year mark. 2nd gen would probably be a good name for my group,

I don't see the same names around as much, I am not an old old member but I am well past the two year mark. 2nd gen would probably be a good name for my group, where people coming on today would be 4th or 5th gen. I read HN from the early days and took a long time to create an account and start contributing. There have been some pretty high profile defections of people that have felt that HN has changed too much so their is some attrition from some of the old members who felt that HN represented an elite club. Some say the quality is worse, some say it is just different in either case the focus has definitely changed. In my personally opinion what made me decide to join HN was the self policing of memes and humor, while I enjoy those things they destroy some of the other site that had a serious focus on technology and the industry. Also and most important, HN discourages the "mine is bigger" arguments. To me, that is the one element of a site like Slashdot or HN that will kill it dead for smart individuals, it turns them off and makes them look for the exit quickly. I think so long as that self policing remains, people will come and go and the focus will change, but smart people will always be attracted to it.