Most people's livelihoods depend to some extent on other people's whims. I tip mechanically, and think everybody else should too: as I said, it's a cost sharing mechanism. Part of the problem I think nerds like us have with tipping is that they think it's something they have to figure out, like a Yelp star rating. No: just divide by 10 and double, end of story.
I'll go you one further and candidly tell you that what I perceive lurking in the subtext of HN's biannual tipping freakout is the frustration some nerds have that they don't get to inflict their whims on American servers, because their tips are expected to be automatic. They feel ripped off by the expectation. That's the fucked up belief, right there.
You can feel free to ask one of your server friends how degraded they feel by your tips. I think you'll be surprised.
