Actually, I lavished on praise for their brilliant redesign, but it turned out I was hellbanned and slowbanned for an earlier comment. My comment of praise never showed up.
And that gets to the point of why people are hostile on HN: because the site administrators and moderators are hostile and hellban users for the most benign comments.
Leaders and administrators set the tone. It all rolls downhill, as the saying goes.
Oh, and my account will be hellbanned and my connection slowbanned yet again for speaking out. As per usual.
TLDR: Look to the admins of the site. They have been setting the tone all along. That's where the hostility is originating from.