I love HN as it is right now. But, I think HN can become even more interesting.
Can the submissions be classified under different categories, like startup, programming, physics etc.
Some kind of tagging might help too.
HN is not a community-built website, so in the most direct sense, no it can't take itself a step further. It sounds like you are looking for reddit. Join, unsubscribe from the default crap (pictures, funny, etc) and subscribe to r/programming, r/physics, etc.