You mean why does it load instantly, pulling 100K, and not need JS and Disqus for comments? After a makeover it'll want to pull 2M+ for a short piece of text and 5M if there's a few images.

Like with HN I prefer speed and simple for a text medium over watching it assemble load on demand JPGs like we're on dialup. :)

You could style it up a bit for sure - on the other hand, that thing loads fast and is readable well. Reading it on a FullHD screen actually shows content instead of "cool" empty space where you have to scroll like a crazy man. There are too many pages in the current mainstream that make the fan of my i7-laptop spin up to the max just look fancy.

Who cares? It's fine, it does its job, it's clean and it's clear, no garbage.

Are you aware of what this site looks like?