I've been reading HN for a bit over one year, and I have felt the decline in quality of both comments and posts.
I consider myself a bit of a Reddit refugee, and given the kind of comments that are popping up lately, I think there are many of us here (and if you look at Reddit now, it has been similarly declining, with an influx of Digg- and 4chan-like content and comments). I think a large part of the problem is that people are flocking to HN, and somehow "colonizing" it without trying to integrate into the "local culture". Hence the mean-spirited comments, etc.
I consider myself a bit of a Reddit refugee, and given the kind of comments that are popping up lately, I think there are many of us here (and if you look at Reddit now, it has been similarly declining, with an influx of Digg- and 4chan-like content and comments). I think a large part of the problem is that people are flocking to HN, and somehow "colonizing" it without trying to integrate into the "local culture". Hence the mean-spirited comments, etc.