[pnt12]

That's too cynical. If it were an ad platform, you wouldn't be allowed to criticize those companies, or YC, or members from YC. But you can!

It also doesn't ask for a lot of attention. You don't get notifications, infinite scrolling, custom content for your preferences, and click bait is limited, per the enforced guidelines. There's a bit of FOMO since articles only stay at the top for a while, but there's ways to get around that (RSS, which I use).

HN is a place to discuss interesting ideas first, and YC startups second. The hard work from dang deserves more praise than that!