You don't have to follow any of the rules in the GDPR if you have a good reason for doing so, which doesn't overstep the basic rights of the person. Being able

You don't have to follow any of the rules in the GDPR if you have a good reason for doing so, which doesn't overstep the basic rights of the person. Being able to operate the business in the way that it's intended is a fine reason. So, user comments don't have to be deleted because that would change the way HN operates and creates value. However, it's harder to explain why the comments can't be anonymized by unlinking it from the user table and changing the username to 'deleted'.