It's actually a legitimate phenomenon: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15643663

Not all but software related in general and Javascript/Electron related in particular any advance make me sad. I hang out on HN to find comfort in fact that others also feel crappy software hosing all the hardware advances.

Then opt out of it by blocking all that tracking and those analytics as well as those spurious a/b tests. While you're at it you might as well block any and all "social functionality". This way they get to play with their new toys without bothering you.