Meta: This is our version of the Eternal September. "Hacker" means a subset of tech people that are focused on invention and innovation for innovation sake. They are the minority nowadays, the rest is tech people, grown up on the modern Internet mindset that cynicism gives you more points and thus makes you feel smart. I blame the karma system.

It varies a lot by thread, but it's probably just aging of the tech cohort. When HN started, the industry was small and many engineers were young. Those engineers in their 20s are now in their 40s. Regular threads come up here these days about being digital Amish. Reminds me of Slashdot shortly before everyone started leaving (though I don't think it'll happen here as there's no viable competitor.) It's just the old Douglas Adams quote playing out here, tech from your childhood is great/ethical/useful and everything in your adulthood isn't.

And many people thought the Net and the Web was going to be a fad. Who needs a web BBS when you have Usenet, why a forum when there are Fido distributions? Entire BBSes died because they couldn't fathom being on the net. HN's current demographic would probably think most of the Web was a hyped up ruse made to sell more modems.