For most people, crypto is about money, not tech. Easy money, quick money. Therefore the spam level of any crypto discussion is so huge that the opinion gets drowned out by the propaganda.
Investments happen because people want to make money, end of story. Not to help other people, because that is called charity.
BUT, that doesn't mean that investing is all about scamming people. It is clear at this point that the best investments are the ones that provide actual value to a lot of people.
To conclude: most things are about money, but that doesn't invalidate the value behind it.
And just like the OP, I agree that on HN these discussions always end up nowhere.
"It's all about money, not technology", and when you talk about technology: "It's technology looking for a problem", and then you talk about use-cases: "A centralized system is more efficient".
Question: does being old enough to have lost money* - and having done so** - back in the .com bubble correlate with whether you're positive or negative about Web3 ?
"This Time Is Different" has been said by sales types since at least the year 1637
* Full disclosure: yes, I am
** Full disclosure: yes, I did .. not enough to have mattered, but enough to [still] remember
very curious.