There is the difference between HN and reddit/digg etc. that pg and co. do HN for love, whereas, whatever other motives they may have, the other sites are trying to make money.

i wonder if performing a restart... something like what The Architect from The Matrix talks about...

i wonder if simply restarting the entire software would help a bit. in other words, deleting the entire database and starting from scratch every n years. meaning the front page would be blank, people would have to 'register' again with their karma at 1

if it takes making a new community, a restart might be a good approximation, among having other effects (eg the effect on karma whores)

A good first step is, when you catch yourself making a comment that contributes nothing except maybe some sentiment, to not make it.