Except there is a category of scathing comments that come across as well thought out but really aren't that tend to get upvoted a lot. It's easy to arbitrarily

Except there is a category of scathing comments that come across as well thought out but really aren't that tend to get upvoted a lot. It's easy to arbitrarily pick something apart. It's much harder to do so constructively (why is it bad, how should it be fixed, etc).[1] As a result, HN is a very negative place. When I agree or disagree with an article, when I click on the comments button, I am literally thinking "Lets see why HN thinks I'm wrong (if I agree) or right (if I disagree)." I can pretty much always count on the top rated comment to be a negative reaction to the post. When it is that common, it isn't just being analytical. It is being negative. 1. Compare "I can't read your site" with "While trying to read your site, I'm distracted by all the widgets, making it hard to find the actual content. When I do find the content, it just looks like a wall of text because the headlines look so similar to the body text."