In the early days, if my posts got on HN at all, they'd often have negative comments. I emailed the HN'ers who wrote those comments and I asked them how I could improve. Almost every single one gave me meaningful, useful feedback.
(That feedback is why I don't shout my intro, for example.)
Then, as I started improving, you guys voted up my work more often and helped me get real traffic, which led to some sponsorships.
Recently, I noticed that I have access to more of the entrepreneurs and investors that I want to interview because they tell me that they know my work from HN.
It takes me hours to research and put together an interview. The people on HN make it worth the work. Thank you.