Yes they are always enforced that way. Redundant and off-topic content is always handled like this; a reasonable amount is allowed, the rest gets flagged. There

Yes they are always enforced that way. Redundant and off-topic content is always handled like this; a reasonable amount is allowed, the rest gets flagged. There's several huge threads discussing Musk/DOGE on HN, dang even said it's the most discussed topic ever on HN. The redundant ones get flagged for good reason. Politics in general is off-topic and therefore also flagged by many users. What you're seeing is a justified reaction from bored and annoyed users. My HN feed is at least 50% Musk and DOGE. That's insane. IMO there should be a pinned "mega"thread on the frontpage. That's not gonna happen, but it would resolve the conflict and prevent most of the spam.