My theory is that we're seeing the influx of Reddit members. There's evidence even this thread, as in the children of this parent (https://news.ycombinator.com

My theory is that we're seeing the influx of Reddit members. There's evidence even this thread, as in the children of this parent (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8449500 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8449500). Comments that add nothing meaningful, often contributing nothing other than snark or inane "Internet comedy". There is much that is positive about Reddit, and much that is negative. Something HN doesn't need is the blatant downvoting because of mere differences in opinion. Personally, I wish HN didn't have a downvote button at all, but that we could leave actual moderation to moderators.