I just glance in threads every once in a while and respond if I feel like it. HN will rate limit you sometimes so it disengages me from flamewar style threads - which seems like the intention. Rate limiting makes you take time to think about what you want to actually say or even say anything at all. Overall, I think the UX is "bad by design" because they don't want this place to be like Reddit and Twitter which is just toxic and exhausting.