Others have pointed out that shadowbanning doesn't really work against sophisticated and coordinated adversaries, and that HN has probably never been attacked b

Others have pointed out that shadowbanning doesn't really work against sophisticated and coordinated adversaries, and that HN has probably never been attacked by an army. But there's also another problem: someone has to pay for the decision, and the system to make sure that the decision is made fairly, that moderation powers aren't abused, etc. HN is subsidized by YC, and it's not very important in the scheme of things so the injustice of a few bad decisions about bans is not the world's most pressing problem. As networks scale up, it becomes much more expensive to moderate them and much more important to get it right. If abusers of a system pay for their abuse, they can also pay for careful and fair enforcement. If most people's willingness to pay for non-abusive communications media is $0, then... I expect they will continue to get abuse.