HN isn't driven by a product YC or PG sells. To me, that speaks volumes.

SR (gotta refer to it by an acronym you know) is powered by SE. If it could handle HNish load, that would speak volumes about Social Engine, no?

Obviously there's a commercial interest (even if it doesn't drive decisions, it's still there)

Good point. Also everyone in this thread, even the OP, failed to realize the main difference/point with the site: it's about LOCAL entrepreneurship and building your LOCAL community, something Brad has been writing about. http://www.startuprev.com/about

Although, they did do a crap job at emphasizing 'LOCAL' on the site besides using the once in the sidebar description.

Went to Social Engine's site. See a few quotes on the bottom of the home page which seem to imply testimonials, and I see:

"SocialEngine is rapidly evolving as an amazing tool for building and managing communities." - Brad Feld, feld.com

Huh. Now that I know he's involved at some level, but this isn't disclosed with his quote, it makes me question the credibility of the entire site.

Exactly. That's also the reason the rewards program is on there (I work for BigDoor). Brad is great at dogfooding his own investments.