> Basically money, power etc.. None of those, personally. I'm sure that some people have benefited by finding business ideas and opportunities or new jobs but

> Basically money, power etc.. None of those, personally. I'm sure that some people have benefited by finding business ideas and opportunities or new jobs but there are other ways to do this and it's hardly a good reason to spend time on HN. > Also intellectual debate, I get more information, I feel smart as benefits etc. don't count in this context. The largest benefit for me is being exposed to a mix of interesting ideas and being part of a corner of the internet that's quite a bit more civil. The effects that this has over the long run might be positive but they are also difficult to quantify. It's okay (and healthy) to do things that can't be assigned a specific monetary value.