At the same time, HN is quite distinctly not funny, with jokes being so exceedingly rare that they never even get the chance to turn into a meme. Sometimes, when I read discussions on HN, I wonder whether a little bit of humor might help from time to time (I know it's difficult in writing).

Slashdot was a little bit messy,and less obsessed with facts and technical accuracy, and with being civil and polite, but it was also, well, more human I think. And being a bit messy is ok, as long as most people recognize it (including the people messing about ) and mark things as such for those who don't (the funny, flamebait, etc tags).