What's the Purpose of Hacker News to You?
mdasen: Generally speaking, there's a level of respect here that you just don't find on the internet.  Cooler heads tend to prevail, people value replies that explain rather than criticize even if the original poster was simply wrong, and with rare exception we don't tend to re-post the same thing over and over every couple of weeks.It's really shocking that the environment hasn't changed as the site has gotten larger.  I used to be a tad afraid that as more people joined we'd start getting more of the noise and flame-wars that one sees on other sites.Sure, it's great that HN has interesting content and often times lets me see new and interesting technologies that I can apply, but really it's the respect that we seem to afford each other that keeps me as an engaged member of the community rather than someone that just lurks.  I love discussion, but I have better things to do than fight with people.I always try to remember what Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan said at a commencement at my university, "it is important to express your views, and sometimes even your anger, but at the same time remember that the noble art of conversation is not a martial art."Thank you to everyone here who proves daily that we can respect one another on the internet.