You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
Will we though? HN is for commenting on articles, which in several years will have their links broken. We don't develop characters, carry on stories or create a memes. Is a community based around commenting on things as durable as one that has to create their own content?
> create a memes
"Did you win the Putnam?"
> We don't develop characters
Look again. :)
A different community certainly, but I've shared many emotions on Hacker News, participated in excellent exchanges of ideas, arguments and discovery. A different flavor, but one with it's own sense of belonging.