Right, I'm comparing the design effects of different social media platforms, while you're looking at HN over time. We're not really talking about the same things.
I think we are talking about the same things. I'm claiming the design being discussed doesn't have the effect you believe it does, with the growth of contentious threads being evidence to the contrary.
This is like me saying that the cost of living has certain geographical causes and you saying that's not true because housing prices are rising in Miami.
Are living related and housing price changes related? Sure, but that's not how one would dispell a statement about the former.