[FirmwareBurner]

>Let's say HN were full of edgy comments, memes and flame wars.

Ackshually, edgy meme websites with no moderation don't have any flame wars since everyone there is on the same page.

Flame wars are in places like HN where moderation is heavily one sided and arbitrary, while pretending to be objective and inclusive.

[thomassmith65]

X…

[FirmwareBurner]

4chan

[thomassmith65]

Our branch of the thread seems to be drifting away from the original issue.

Whatever combination of user behaviors it is that HN's moderation promotes, it appeals to some people more than X, 8chan, gab, reddit, etc.

Perhaps some of the other sites contain the 20% of comments - with its pearls of contrarian wisdom - that HN flags. There is an audience of people (like me) to whom that absence doesn't matter.

I have no interest in wading through posts where there's no minimum bar for garbage. Some people do, and good for them: they can pan for gold on reddit, etc.

HN works well, as-is, for a certain segment of the public.