[jackowayed]

Some YC companies definitely do. I'd guess that most startups do to an extent.

[beoba]

I think if anything frequent use of HN would reflect poorly on one's productivity.

[jbrennan]

The same could be said for someone who says "I read books all the time." You could look at it as someone being unproductive (hey if you're reading a book, you're probably not working!) or you could look at it as someone educating themselves.

I've learned a great deal by reading Hacker News.