There is no karma to be had from complaining about HN's software, and yet it is so very inadequate.
I'm loathe to infer that you think that the problem is "me" because I think the underlying question is whether the comments should be a friendly place for people who do not have time or inclination to read the article. You may see that as an appalling, lazy, degeneration in discourse; the reality is that reading the comments without wading through a blog post is a valid tactic. If clearer methods of quoting were available the two or three of us involved here would have wasted less time.
The "engineer-forward" alternative in which everyone strives to speak from a totalizing position of authority is just, frankly (as a technical person myself) unattainable.