Arguably by now the percentage of genuinely new information or arguments on HN is pretty low and falling. Which in a place where discussion > new knowledge is only natural.
Pretty much like any place I can think of, HN is increasingly a virtual water-cooler social hangout where the participants cycle through.
Just reading the thread about encryption at the top of HN as I’m writing this comment was a bit depressing, because I didn’t find any remotely novel questions, answers or lines of reasoning before giving up on that thread. The intellectual and emotional downer for me wasn’t any better than reading the shallow/empty comment that you responded to.
So while I wholeheartedly concur with the sentiment you expressed, I’m also pretty much resigned to the fact, that I should expect less from HN and just move on to other parts of the net. Thank goodness, that RSS seems to be making a quiet comeback.