> I've been here since the beginning and I think comments have gotten more hostile since then.

I've been reading HN since around 2010 and to me it seems that there is now less hostility about technical topics but more hostility against anyone who isn't 100% politically correct. I also think that the quality of comments has decreased dramatically since.

> No one outside of HN that I interact with discusses HN, and if there's ever discussion of this stereotype here, I've missed it.

Many IRC communities I'm part of know HN and sometimes discuss it and the stereotype in those seems to be that HN users are overly sensitive, hypocritical, greedy and toxic. Many of them are also former HN users who now hate the site.