Apologies. Wasn't intended to sound sarcastic. I genuinely do believe that HN is the perfect place to find great people but it's still incredibly difficult and if you're hiring at scale it can be super tough to engage enough people on a place like this.
Places like HN and relevant IRC channels are great if you're hiring for one or two roles but beyond that then it's a bit of a lottery.
Beyond a handful of roles you already gave up on finding brilliant people. You
can't reliably find the best of the best in industrial amounts, no matter what
you do. You can (probably) build stable supply for competent people at best.
>>When was the last time you engaged with a company with a view to working with them because you saw an ad they happened to post in the right fora?
So, yes, hn is where I engage with a company with a view with working with them where they happen to post in the right forum. Suddenly your point is that it isn't a good place to find jobs? Maybe not, but that wasn't your original point. You're moving the goalposts.