I'm here for almost 4 years now, and I see this comment probably once a month. For such large and diverse community as HN, it is doing exceptionally well.
Lobste.rs is like HN but smaller and more closely-knit. Mail me if you want an invite.
Metafilter doesn't have the same technical focus and has a markedly different overall tone, but is pretty much immune from the "reddit effect" due to a lack of upvotes/downvotes, good moderation, and one-time $5 signup fee.