We as a community also need to do a better job of embracing unpolished projects and emphasizing a “don’t be bashful” approach. I’ve seen far too many hobbiest projects posted here where the comments have nitpicked them apart in a derogatory, non-constructive way.
> ...a better job of embracing unpolished projects and emphasizing a “don’t be bashful” approach...
Absolutely. One thing I've found is that the tone of HNers varies a lot. As you pointed out, many are very constructive ("have you thought about...") while some are more critical ("you don't have ..." or "the UX is horrible").
If more people could work on doing the former, then I think we can create a more constructive environment for people to do this.
In my opinion, work in progress type projects (or "research projects" should have only constructive feedback, while Finished Products(tm) can take a more critical approach to comments.
We need more people to take this approach for things they want to share. It makes for a better community.