I don't think there's anything to debate there. It's just a matter of personal taste. I find the whole minimalist thing to be very "hacker-esque" (if that's the right way to say that).
I don't think something which does not actually work is hacker-esque. Minimalistic and half-baked are not the same thing, and hn is the latter more than the former.
I was commenting on the specifics things you mentioned (sans redirection to pages that don't exist). Slowness, lack of good formatting. That sort of thing.
I'm certainly not saying that half-baked is the same as minimalist, and I'm also not saying I wouldn't make some changes given the chance.