Up voting joke post because they are jokes, destroys conversation.
Up voting cutting commentary against a post that happens to be humorous, I am personally fine with. Especially when the original comment isn't well argued or at least thoughtfully made. Parody and the like is protected speech for a reason.
I keep thinking HN has become Reddit, but as Reddit keeps declining it’s possible that both are declining proportionally at the same rate for the same reasons.
It could be an influx of people who were more active on Reddit and have looked for greener pastures recently. Or we as a community are evolving into a position where puns and memes are completely acceptable, and even get upvoted.
I’m not sure NH is being flooded by anybody though. Sometimes the mood is just… right to let down your guard a little and digress into message board thread comics. And if it’s not, the newcomer learns quick.
