Hmm, you're probably right that the other poster meant his disparaging remark about code quality literally. I also enjoy writing great code for the sake of it (artisanship), but from a business perspective bad, insecure, unreliable code typically won't hold you back much. Treating your employees badly is often good for business too. I'd much rather live in a world where great products win and doing the right thing matters, but we don't.

I also agree that the tone of the community has shifted a lot in the past years. Still, given how much HN has grown the community has survived surprisingly well. It's a bit meaner and nit-pickier than it used to be, though.