You're right, and usually threads that do get up-voted are focused on specific technological novelties, whether in the title of the article or the content.
Just look at this story - the reasons it's considered "reasonable" for HN is because the framing is a technological story (internet traffic spike). That then also gives a small space for some people to discuss other aspects of this.
Just look at this story - the reasons it's considered "reasonable" for HN is because the framing is a technological story (internet traffic spike). That then also gives a small space for some people to discuss other aspects of this.