The internet genres that go for clever but shallow wit and/or maximum emotional rev-up don't work well here. They evoke pleasures like surprise, recognition, and indignation (also a pleasure of a kind), but they do so by activating reflexes that operate much faster than the intellectual curiosity that HN tries to nurture. Curiosity needs material which is more reflective and longer-lasting. As PG wrote somewhere, the thought processes are quieter and slower. Snap reactions thwart them. Worse, they tend to keep going and often end up dominating discussion.

It's not that those internet genres suck—they're delightfully clever. But their influence takes HN away from its core. Such high-frequency, low-amplitude stuff drowns out everything else if allowed to, so we don't have the luxury of allowing everything equally. For HN to thrive, we have to clear a space for more substantive material. That's hard to do, but one fairly easy win is to rule out sites that play the other game. In our more fragile ecosystem, they count as invasive species.

theoatmeal.com and others have passionate fans who will disagree. But the fact that one likes something is separate from where it belongs. I like ice cream, but not on meat and vegetables.