HN is not a good user interface, it definitely shows that it is not being maintained by an expert in front end.
Tables for layout isn’t just an example of a dated web site, it is also an accessibility nightmare which no professional web developer would allow to leave their localhost.
For fully able users with access to a screen and a mouse, perhaps so. However for users navigating with assistive technology things are not so simple. A UI is not only what you can see, it is also how different users on different devices interact with it. A front end developer know that and knows how to make a simple UI accessible to every user.