You don't need

> no cookie popups, no "subscribe to our newsletter" slide-ins, no phenomenon where the content loads but then a second later the page resets and re-loads the content again (probably with more ads or something)

to fix rendering layout using tables and cell width to render comment levels.

Just a few lines of CSS and Arc really. That would be a big overhaul only because HN is very small, but not that big in absolute.

Those two things are not related at all though

So, I'm fearful of that as most people here, but if any entity can manage a respectful update, it has to be someone Y Combinator can pay.

Apparently not “good for the user”, given how many people here have commented about the increased font size or custom CSS extensions they need to use on HN to make it readable.