I appreciate you're probably referring to /r/Programming or a similar sub but in my own, non CS educated, non Developer opinion, HN can be quite intimidating if you don't thoroughly understand technology and all its various intricacies. The primary reason for this being the instantly observable fact that 98% of those who contribute in the discussions blatantly know what they are talking about.

/r/Programming has a lot of 'average' content that's easily understandable and the prevalence of memes and off-topic humour on Reddit significantly lowers the barrier to entry.

I'm glad that HN isn't as active as Reddit, since if it was, it would be filled with bullshit. :)

It's doubtful that you can, honestly.

I went on a fairly sizable rant last night about HN's decline into mediocrity lately.