This article applies to just about every single internet discussion community I've ever been a part of since I started using the internet back in 1999. First,

This article applies to just about every single internet discussion community I've ever been a part of since I started using the internet back in 1999. First, a community is founded with a small handful of users. Those small handful of users all know the topic well, so good discussion arises. Those small number of users all know each other, and form a bond. Once word gets out that the community is a place where high quality discussion occurs, people start joining in droves. The small handful of people who were there since the beginning start feeling like that community "belongs" to them, and start acting hostile towards the "noobs". You also have this phenomenon where the new users desperately want to be "accepted" by the establishment, so they'll suck up to the core users, which results in cliquish behavior and it really kills the site for anyone who just wants to discuss and learn about he topic/hobby the community was founded on. It's happened to Something Awful, JetCareers, the entirety of usenet, and yes even Hacker News.