I frequent Reddit and HN. Although I dont read /r/programming, I do subscribe to /r/economics, /r/business, /r/entrepreneurship and I can say that I am much more likely to read a full article on HN than anything I find on Reddit. It might have something to do with the fact that I give the HN community more credit for having legitimate conversations about topics that arent purely sensationalist. Or that I go to Reddit looking for funny crap and only occasionally come across something good. On the other hand, I go to HN looking for good stuff.
Somehow this site has replaced Slashdot for me. The conversations are just as good if not a bit more neutral in tone. Also the articles are much fresher over here.
>HN community more credit for having legitimate conversations about topics that arent purely sensationalist
/r/programming has massive issues with its userbase, they're opinionated and uneducated which is a disastrous combination. If you want to be with a supportive, interesting community you're better to stick to the languages subreddit (/r/python and /r/ruby are great) or HN. HN is superior in the fact it covers a broader range of topics.
As you mentioned reddit is great for entertainment, but not anything serious.
