There are a lot of positive things about HN, without it being "real news". The major value for me is that it is (often) interesting. I learn a lot here that helps me find new ways to think about technology and the web industry.

But it is not:

* neutral: there are some pretty obvious biases, though they aren't consistent

* need-to-know: there's nothing I've learned on HN which has been strictly necessary to me, though there's a lot which was interesting

* concise: the net information density is relatively low, than higher on many other discussion sites. (Low bar, I know...)