[AnimalMuppet]

The "eggshells" comment is, I think, indicative.

HN used to be a place where you could read a post from a position that you disagreed with, and still learn something. Posts had more thought and more interesting points. Users had more tolerance for those who disagreed with them. Those who disagreed had more thoughtful reasons for why they disagreed - it wasn't just "is not".

You can't fix that by changing the code. The problem is the users have changed.

HN has more users now. First, that means that the old users are in the minority, if they stuck around. Second, it means that HN has become a more useful platform for ideological battle, and therefore that more ideological battle gets pushed here, even though it's completely against the intent of the site.

And, maybe, some of the old users have changed, too - become more sharp and less tolerant.

I don't think you can fix HN without first fixing society. I wish I had a more optimistic answer.

[fragmede]

What do you see as wrong with society and how would you fix it?

[qwertybopeep]

I think the parent has the right idea. Partly at least. I mean, there's no denying that since covid in 2020 the web has changed and there's a lot more anger out around. It's not just Hacker News which has changed, it's other platforms too. For example, have you tried to add a comment to a youtube video in 2024? Shadow banning and misuse of downvoting / reporting isn't just limited to HN.