[hvs]

I don't think HN is on the level of Reddit or some other communities, but there is an air of contrarianism that wafts through this place that I can imagine reads as negative to people that aren't familiar with it. It also sometimes outright vilifies certain projects.

[spacemanmatt]

There's some cultural and some technical elitism here, and you can taste it. It's available on other forums, but I think it's a touch stronger here. On the other hand, HN does a great job of shouting down trolls and truly ignorant (unresearched/uninformed) opinions. As such, I find a stronger S/N here despite the elitism. It's pretty easy to filter/calibrate for that than the trolling and sheer idiocy so pervasive in other venues.

[forgottenpass]

As such, I find a stronger S/N here despite the elitism.

Despite? I've only been on the internet for 15 years, but I thought elitism was the only way to increase s/n ratio.

I've seen elitism enforced through selecting _who_ can talk or _how_ the people talk to eachother. But I've never seen anything but "GOML" change interaction for the better. Even this "Dear Javascript" can be seen as a flavor of GOML.

[spacemanmatt]

Nosir, I often consider elitism part of the noise. It's just a particularly filterable part of the usual array of noise sources, though. And I recognize this is a subjective statement; YMMV.

[sidlls]

HN definitely has a strain of tech "fad following" and cult of personality going on, in my opinion. There are certain languages, frameworks, companies and individuals that, if one comments negatively about, will earn more than one down vote.