Ranking, decentralization, reputation, moderation and anonymity are relatively orthogonal, so you'd have a lot of flexibility.
The key to HN is the social network aspect or effect, i.e. the people who come here. How you get people to this hypothetical alternative is the hard question. Why would I want to leave HN?
The key to HN is the social network aspect or effect, i.e. the people who come here. How you get people to this hypothetical alternative is the hard question. Why would I want to leave HN?