alt Hacker NewsI'm sure there are bots on here as much as astroturfing.
Partly is seems to be how quickly an article has comments leaning to one side or another. Once a few of these comments get off the ground, it's hard for voting on HN to reflect the discussion these days.
It does appear that more users from Reddit etc. are not just using HN these days, but commenting. The quality of posts and comments has definitely decreased, in line with the quality of content on blog posts decreasing.
Replies
Another aspect is using HN as an early seed for wider advertising.
Company blog/announcement -> developer blog -> HN front page -> Twitter -> small tech blogs -> YT niche videos -> Reddit -> PR newswire -> bigger (paid content) blogs -> YT general/news videos -> Facebook -> local news -> national news.
Meanwhile, newer developers who think they're early on groundbreaking tech news are spreading this to their friends via Discord and Whatsapp etc.
Yet all of this media is controlled, just to generate buzz and boost stock prices.
> The quality of posts and comments has definitely decreased, in line with the quality of content on blog posts decreasing.
I fondly remember the first time I read this comment. I think it was August of 2008.