I think that startups becoming trendy made HN trendy, and trendy anything is bad. I've been here for a long time too (I ditch my accounts) and it really does seem there's been a gradual increase of nasty children and a corresponding departure of nice adults. Whenever I go away and come back it seems worse. The worsening also seems to be marked by big events like the Reddit fiasco, that women-in-tech stuff, Steve Jobs dying, Snowden, etc. I think when pg left that was it. I just want to have conversations with intelligent people but that doesn't seem to be the point anymore.