Comment by beepbooptheory

Gotcha, I really don't want to push this anymore, I just want to point out that what we are discussing in this instance, or at least what I thought, is not reflexive crankiness in comments, but someone's essay/post that is, as far as it goes, thoughtful and nuanced.

But here, I think I can fill out your response: while the post itself is not reflexive curmudgeonism, the original headline itself would arguably encourage it in the comments, and that is something that falls under the purview of the guidelines, and gives reason for mods to editorialize. Submitters and authors and commenters must not only care about the content itself, but how it might be perceived at the surface (what the bait is), but only insofar as this fosters productive/curious conversation.

While I am still a little haunted by certain counterfactuals one could formulate in this case, and notwithstanding the one big elephant in the room I won't even bring up, this can check out for me and I get it and thanks. Again, its just good to know where HN stands, and I personally have benefited some from this reality check about the state of things for the site from your point of view.