Those two things are unrelated. Discussion that breaks the HN guidelines is destructive, whether or not it's tech related, because it pushes HN in the direction of going down in flames. Preventing that from happening is the #1 job we have.
Arguably the default fate of internet forums is to eventually burn out and become scorched earth, but the idea of HN from the beginning has been to stave that off for as long as we can.
