Net Art defined; Having fun making useless technology.
I think comments like these, although said in jest, undermine the work of many programmers who are creating useful technological solutions for a living.
For example, I am particularly picky about sc-fi. I love hard sci-fi like Arthur C Clarke. I can also enjoy really silly sci-fantasy stuff like star-wars. But if something is sorta half way, the inconsistencies and inaccuracies really annoy me and I hate it. eg that film 'Gravity' being a mix of realistic and unrealistic.
In the case of this thing..
A lot of the software dev type people on HN presumably love elegant tech, and probably dont have strong opinions on the latest high-art. But when the art starts to approach tech it hits this valley and we start to actively hate it.
Just an idea.
We dont have very strong opinions outside our areas of expertise of knowledge, we dont have the inclination or the capacity to really.
Whereas within our area of expertise we have cultivated our understanding to be able to fully appreciate and love great works, but also truly understand and thus hate the depths of failure of poor work.
I suppose this is similar to the original uncanny valley effect. A part of our mind is highly specialized at recognizing other humans with an amazing attention to detail. Real humans are registered by the system and pass, quasi-human things register and fail alarmingly, rocks and trees merely dont register.
It's not about practicality.