If this is done in an automated way, it could be an attack vector. EG. a malicious domain or link shortener owner could identify HN server IPs (or via other fin

If this is done in an automated way, it could be an attack vector. EG. a malicious domain or link shortener owner could identify HN server IPs (or via other fingerprints, I'm not really a networks expert), learn when the HN server accesses it, and serve a different URL in only that case to replace the one in the comment. I know AOL used a similar tactic when Microsoft was racing to keep the (competing) MSN client compatible with their chat protocol after each update[0]. They wouldn't block the MSN client at known Microsoft IP addresses, so the engineers thought their solution worked, while users couldn't access AOL. Human replacement would probably work fine, and I personally think it would be a good way to deal with behavior that is often an honest mistake made out of ignorance. You might wish to surface the fact the the URL was changed subtly, however, with a color change or diacritical mark. [0] https://nplusonemag.com/issue-19/essays/chat-wars/ https://nplusonemag.com/issue-19/essays/chat-wars/