I lament the people ("hackers" and "non-hackers" alike) that seem to try to convert HN into their other non-technical favorite discussion forum.
There must be something I don't understand, because the thread cited below isn't in the front page results if I'm logged in, but IS on the front page if I'm not logged in. So I will leave the post because of the points related to liberal arts, but rescind my voting conspiracy mindset.
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Take a look at this thread:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8914678
It's about reading, and literature. I commented on it when it was on the front page. Went back to view the thread later and it was nowhere in the first 600 results.
I don't know why for sure yet, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that it had something to do with the liberal arts nature of the post offending some of the hardcore flag killers here.
Non-engineering disciplines may attract a significant number of down voters and haters that the answer to your question is, in the opinion of the masses and filtered through the editorial policy of the voting/flagging system: yes.
I disagree. I think every field has its hacking contingent, and the point of liberal arts is to find breadth and interdisciplinary connection, which produces equal, if not richer, insights than narrow specialization.
So my answer is no, it's not annoying to have non-hackers on HN. I'm here to learn and to form those connections across disciplines.
It is annoying to have shills, or black-and-white silo thinkers. But these are independent of the hacker/non-hacker dimension.
While I don't have any doubt that more and more diverse users causes friction for those who prefer HN to cater to the sort of stories and culture they prefer, it's worth mentioning that the site is about 'anything that satisfies intellectual curiosity', not hacking in any particular sense.
I'm not annoyed. Some of the most interesting stories i've seen here have had nothing to do with 'hacking' at all, whatever that means.
I come to HN seeking primarily technical discussion. Although tech is my primary interest, if your area of interest is as nerdy as tech (science, for example), you're more than welcome here in my eyes.
Granted, I don't want to see HN become a morass of hiring threads, but if and when I have another job to apply for, I'd like the recruiter to have some idea of what he's talking about and reading HN articles isn't exactly detrimental to that end.