I do think there has been a noticeable change but I don't think it's entirely bad. For example, a discussion around Haiti with a bunch of technologists on HN - as oppose to on Reddit - could manifest a new challenge and opportunity for another hacker that impacts the world in a meaningful way as oppose to yet-another-photo-sharing-site.<p>I think it's pretty inevitable that as a site grows its core focus will become diluted. I'm not entirely happy to see less startup/tech news either, and I believe there are only two solutions for that: 1. growth with it and deal or 2. convert to a private community with limited invite-only (or application based).