What I want when I open up HN is to see: interesting tools and concepts; productivity ideas (that aren't trying to sell me something); and technology community/industry news.
I tend to avoid:
- anything US-related since it's almost always irrelevant to me and often political (which invites a lot of bad faith discussion);
- most cultural issues being that they are rehashed, never interesting and the comments are usually flooded with people who already have strong opinions (not to mention the stale talking points);
- crypto (a financial exercise disguised as technology);
- anything that tries to gender a profession, activity or concept; and
- anything that tries to partition a profession, activity or concept by gender.
Those last two ring of schoolyard bickering. There are others of course, but these are the main offenders.
As far as 'blocking' them: I scrape the titles and domains and hide threads matching patterns in either of those two fields. I check domains to filter out the more 'mainstream' sources since their tech- and science-related articles are heavily oversimplified (and/or factually incorrect, usually as a result of simplification). If I have time over during a break—and I've exhausted the interesting threads—I'll skim the list of hidden threads in case something fell through the cracks. (That hasn't happened yet.)
The core issues I am trying to solve by hiding these threads are negativity bias and time. Divisive subjects—whether I enter the comments or not—sour my mood. One thread doesn't hurt, but they can add up. Removing them from sight saves on emotional energy, and it saves on the time I spend looking for an interesting new read.