I disagree, and here's why. PG is clearly benefiting from this bully pulpit as a means to recruit startup founders. Especially in the midst of Startup School (the periodic anti-September of YC) and a waning interest in risky ventures as the economy contracts, it serves as a barometer. Plus the type of crowd that sailed in from TechCrunch has been revealed (if that is the right word) as generally free of merit. I do not believe that judging news.YC as if it were yet another social news site (YASNS, if I have to use the phrase ever again) is appropriate, and hence the rant is perhaps less valuable than it would be on, say, reddit.
As BrandonM noted, it's still the best source for news that interests this particular subset of the public. However, as another poster noted, perhaps the interesting observations that previously lay unnoticed have been exhausted, and the hard work of turning over new stones, starting new companies, and learning new things must begin.
There's only so much you can learn in the library. Eventually you need to get in the laboratory or out in the field. I suspect that is as much to blame for the change in interest levels as anything else.
(JMHO)
I know that describes me, to some extent. For me, I think the original Startup News was liberating. It was a fresh voice I'd never heard before saying that I don't have to graduate school and go get a job in industry; I can actually do what I want and make a lot of money doing it. After a year of hearing that and getting some helpful tips along the way, perhaps it's just time for me to go do.
Hard to say... but lord knows I hope that you'll have a better idea as a result of perusing the better offerings of the site. I have found it useful to compare my performance against the theoretical optima that I see documented here, rather than just the work of other developers, in order to push myself. Hell, that's why I went back to grad school in the first place (and went into methodology, eventually succumbing to math envy, as it happens).
perhaps it's just time for me to go do.
If you look on the front cover of your copy of SICP, the little yin/yang has 'eval' and 'apply' halves. Another endlessly useful shorthand metaphor, IMHO... It's always tempting to go too far in one direction or the other, but fortune seems to favor those who balance the halves.
Perhaps more than anything else, this post was a note to myself to reinforce my decision. I remember hearing advice some time back to tell as many people as possible when you resolve to do something so that you will have that additional motivation of not wanting to seem like a failure. Lately I've been trying to prioritize the things in my life, and since I'm not getting as much value as I used to, it makes sense right now to leave.
Thanks for the personal observations.
I find that I never make such a black-or-white decision: usually I have periods of increased or decreased usage which eventually peters completely out. So it's interesting to see someone who is either participating or not.
Don't let the commenters bug you -- one of the not-so-good traits here is that they sometimes seem to have a bit of a self-admiration society going on. It's not unusual that your post would get criticized. I found it right on-target for what I liked about news.yc -- some person making an observation about the market/program/philosophy-of-business and then asking others for comments. I remember some great AskYC and AskPG questions. Don't seem to see those a lot any more -- at least not as much as before. People who provide honest negative feedback are doing a great service for a community like this. PG owes you thanks for taking the time to rant a bit on the way out.