It's been great for me to meet other like-minded developers. Some of the guys I've met here I probably wouldn't have come across otherwise. That's been a huge value for me along with the shared knowledge on how to solve particular problems.
Usually if a discussion gets interesting in the comments section, I or the other person will make direct contact so we can talk offline. Sometimes it's really more efficient to talk on the phone or in person when exchanging ideas - it's also just fun to make a personal connection with like-minded developers and talk shop.
I also happen to live in the bay area which makes it easy to meet people from news.yc in person at tech events.
