Has there ever been an attempt to run a survey and settle the question? Of course, the risk of the results creating the kind of thread you're trying to avoid with the detox week is pretty high...
Such surveys aren't reliable. If anyone wanted to classify comments manually they might come up with something, but I'd guess it would just lead to more arguments.
Sometimes I amuse myself by imagining a service in which HN users who make opposing claims about its "heavy slant" are introduced to each other.