In my experience, the way to get upvotes in any such forum (not just HN) is to express an opinion in the strongest terms you possibly can. "X is dead" gets upvo

In my experience, the way to get upvotes in any such forum (not just HN) is to express an opinion in the strongest terms you possibly can. "X is dead" gets upvotes. "X has some challenges to overcome, and it might" doesn't. Of the most satisfying outcomes on HN, mine have been when I've posted a reasoned, moderate comment and been upvoted. Sure, I try and avoid flamefests, and I've noticed a bit of trolling being upvoted, but overall, I think HN has risen above. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm lucky, but it doesn't seem that bad, yet. Of course, there's always room for improvement . . .