In the end, it’s the poster’s responsibility to comb through responses to find useful snippets. The cliche of “admitting the problem is the first step towards recovery” could also apply to asking this question.
Rather than comparing HN to patrons at a bar, I’d counter that HN is more like a large courtyard on a tech campus. Sure, there’s bars, foam pits and foosball tables, but there’s also chess matches, spirited debate, and plenty of like-minded people around too.
But you have a point. I'm being snarky, unfair, and, worse, unhelpful. One can consume media and also create stuff. Hanging out here doesn't mean that you aren't also creating neat things, and indeed there are a whole bunch of posts here every day showing the insane and wonderful things people are out there creating.
Is there a smaller number like 10 that might make me feel less guilty?