Fwiw to my memory, 8 years ago people complained about cynicism and negativism on HN just as much. Eg people never stopped quoting that famous top comment on Dropbox's HN launch (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863#9224).

I strongly doubt this attitude ever changed. It's always been

    - first comments are dismissive gut reactions
    - a bit later some nuanced/positive comments arrive
    - depending on mood and luck, one or the other kind floats to the top

I mean how often have you read a super positive top comment that starts out complaining about all the negativism in the thread? It's super commonplace! HN is still full of optimism and excitement, and also middlebrow dismissal. Just give it a few hours for every topic.