People have been complaining that Hacker News is going downhill or "turning into Reddit" since the beginning. Here's a decade old comment from pg about staving off the site's decline[0], with the earliest "turning into reddit" complaint in 2009[1] and the newest (that I could find) from a month ago [2]. It's so common for new accounts to complain about it that it's specifically called out in the guidelines.
Doubtless every time, there were also people who thought they were in a "golden age" for Hacker News. People see what they want to see, and they're all subjectively correct given their individual perspectives. If you avoid certain subjects and certain threads (or certain times of day), Hacker News seems like a bastion of civility, intellect and gravitas. Elsewhere, it's a dumpster fire. Turn showdead off and follow dang's comments if you want to see the other side of the coin here, although I wouldn't recommend it.
Doubtless every time, there were also people who thought they were in a "golden age" for Hacker News. People see what they want to see, and they're all subjectively correct given their individual perspectives. If you avoid certain subjects and certain threads (or certain times of day), Hacker News seems like a bastion of civility, intellect and gravitas. Elsewhere, it's a dumpster fire. Turn showdead off and follow dang's comments if you want to see the other side of the coin here, although I wouldn't recommend it.
[0]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2403696
[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=576431
[2]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30380300