HN posts can show a marked lack of empathy, but overall quality is much better than online in general. I think the moderators deserve the credit for this, so I want to say that I daily appreciate their efforts.

One thing I would criticize is the use of [Flagged]. I've been paying attention to its use for a few months now and I've noticed absolutely no correlation between the presence of [Flagged] and how informative or volatile a thread will be. It is really just noise.