Every now and then when I've got some time to kill I'll go look at old comment sections (particularly when Dang links previous iterations of a discussion) and c

Every now and then when I've got some time to kill I'll go look at old comment sections (particularly when Dang links previous iterations of a discussion) and compare it to what I see today. It turns out that the quality hasn't changed greatly, though viewpoints, popular gripes, etc may have. I've discovered that a lot of my thoughts about "hn is going to shit" are usually better phrased as "I dislike that this viewpoint is popular now" or "I've come around to seeing that differently". Particularly when it turns out I preserved my old viewpoint in the form of a comment on the old article. A related thing is: look through places where the crowd skews young/newb like r/programmerhumor. You'll see arguments, discussions, etc about things that might make you think "I thought that was settled ages ago" but in reality were just things you got experienced perspective on, and/or grew out of. People grow and change - usually in a slow and steady way that's hard to see in the mirror. I suspect you've picked up a lot of knowledge and some new perspectives - a few years is a long time!