The kind of people who leave criticism on HN are not worth listening to anyway. Most of the users of this site have no taste and think they're more brilliant / important than they actually are.
I think you will find that a great diversity of minds are attracted to this site, and for reasons you may not have considered. Curiosity is a giddy thing, and it is a fundamental part of what draws me here. If you read this site and see only the occasional jerk rather than the experience-driven insights, that is your misfortune. Maybe instagram is your thing. I hear they have a lot of cat pictures.
I've been reading this site fairly regularly since 2010. Not as long as many, but long enough to feel confident saying that though the cast is always changing, this site remains one of my favorite places to
1. discover things I hadn't considered previously
2. reevaluate my past decisions in a way that makes me thoughtful about future ones
It is partly the articles, but more the comments (and careful modding).
HN stands out as a great place to expand my awareness. There are people here with deep technical experience that care about the outcome of their conversations. The flame-bait and regressive behavior isn't the main thing going on, it is a sideshow. If that ever changes for me, I'm out of here.
The article fodder is not as interesting to me as it used to be, but there are gems, and the comments remain engaging.
Who knows, perhaps I'm one of the jerks? Perhaps I'm the dreamer that dreams the dream and am therefore the jerk expert? Hard for me to say, but I welcome your opinion.
You may want to find other employment if your work requires an NDA that disallows any discussion of your work, or your future opportunities to get paid in money may be limited.