I am frustrated with HN these days too, although I can't seem to break the habit. But for sites which rely on community moderation like this, the articles that

I am frustrated with HN these days too, although I can't seem to break the habit. But for sites which rely on community moderation like this, the articles that rise to the top are by definition the right articles. We have a different set of people now, that's all. I will say that my tastes, and that of the HN community, have diverged. Personally I'd rather avoid a judgment mindset, where we debate about whether articles 'deserve' to be on the front page or not. HN isn't some star chamber where you get to say what is and isn't worthy of appreciation by the hacker community, whatever that is. Mostly, it's just an algorithm. And it's designed to encourage variety, not uniformity - this is why most can upvote, but only a few can downvote. Lastly - I don't know how you can legitimately accuse her of self-absorption. This article is about a difficult personal decision, so no kidding, it's about her thoughts and feelings. This isn't the totality of everything she's ever done in her life (a life which, by her account, was more about achievement than reflection). And even if she was a little self-absorbed (unlike everyone else in their twenties), so what? Do you want a gold star for putting her in her place? Criticism is good, but real criticism has analysis. Not just labelling.