The more submissions there are on a given topic, the greater the number of submissions that will be flagged. That's both a law of averages, and HN's aversion t

The more submissions there are on a given topic, the greater the number of submissions that will be flagged. That's both a law of averages, and HN's aversion to repeat / duplicate discussion: The intention is not to suppress an important topic but to hold the countless me-too posts at bay—the ones that don't add anything significant. When the massive wave subsides, we'll remove the penalty. For example, there was a period where HN did this for NSA stories, but that hasn't been the case for a while. <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8461596 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8461596> That said, yes, the vast majority of moderation is done by HN's readers, not mods.