>But I'm also disappointed at how HN seems to only have like 5 topics people want to discuss and the comments on every submission find their way back to those topics no matter how tenuous.

doesn't that just point to the impact and magnitude of the perceived problem?

"Yeah, I know the kitchen is on fire, but let's talk about how the pancakes taste."

'group-attention' migrates back to the collective concern; seems unsurprising, espescially in the face of being reminded of a product that had these concerns handled well compared to our future selves.