[krapp]

My two cents: HN creates and maintains the impression of YCombinator being a cutting edge nexus for hacker and startup culture, the virtual water cooler you want to be seen next to saying something clever when important people walk by. It also provides advertising for YC startups via related threads and the who's hiring pages.

[JMTQp8lwXL]

It's effective too. I am unaware of any other VC groups attempting to brand themselves in this way.