Mods didn't touch either thread except (1) we merged the duplicate discussions and (2) we rolled back the voting ring penalty so that the story would be on the frontpage.
This is in keeping with the principle that we moderate stories less, not more, when YC or a YC startup is part of the story. That's been the case since the beginning, and I've posted about it dozens of times: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu....
I would imagine that's what happened here.
Nobody believes that, HN does extensive damage control, banning, flagging with alt accounts, specific story suppression, propaganda, and outright censorship.
This comment itself will be censored for countering your narrative not because it’s too toxic for the precious eyes of readers or violates any generally accepted ethics, but because censorship and propaganda are weapons of choice for an abusive unintelligent maniac like yourself.
There are a number of reasons why this is the case. One is that it is true. Another is that we've always treated the good will of the community as by far the biggest asset—in fact, the only asset—that HN has.
Really great vetting there, guys.