Based on what I know about moderation, the penalty on the story may have been overruled by upvotes or reversed by moderators. This does happen occasionally. A

Based on what I know about moderation, the penalty on the story may have been overruled by upvotes or reversed by moderators. This does happen occasionally. And by authoritarianism I do not mean politically authoritarian views, simply authoritarianism applied to moderation decisions (having iron fisted idea police ensuring the quality of HN discussion).