Earlier quoted context omitted.
they're the same place (literally, same demographics and that), HN just pushes people to be passive-aggressive instead of regular aggressive because of the rules on tone, even though the spirit of the rules is to be inquisitive rather than abrasive.
I disagree. 14% of the US use reddit++. It's possible, and IMHO, likely that most HN users are reddit users. It's definitely not the case that most reddit users are HN users. t In my utterly subjective opinion, the users of HN are generally older, and almost certainly more STEM oriented than their reddit counterparts. Both their age and their experience might explain why they are more skilled at eviscerating a commen…
My experience with people being toxic or negative or whatever has been mainly people being passive-aggressive or hostile, regardless of politics. Most reactionary content here just gets flagged into oblivion regardless of how it's presented, of course. So the unpleasantness that actually sticks around tends to be either apolitical or liberal/progressive (I find neoliberals are too busy trying to make money to engage in petty arguments!).