alt Hacker News> On that scale, it's getting worse...
I don't mean to express doubt (you would know better than I) but what makes you say that?
Do you think it's a consequence of external factors like the current political climate or of internal factors like HN getting larger?
I think it's both external and internal, but the internal factors are more important because a compromised immune system is more vulnerable to outer pathogens.
I'm not sure it's about HN getting larger, though. It's a bit hard to tell, but at least some of the upswing in cynical and curmudgeonly comments is coming from established users.