Disappearing Comments?

I don't think it's normal or common for comments to disappear completely unless the posting user deletes them before there is a response. Sometimes they are marked [dead], and you can see them if you set "showdead: yes" in your profile (click on your login in the upper right to access).

And sometimes threads of comments are "folded", and can only be viewed if you click the "X more" link to the right of the header. But I don't think they are usually removed completely.

I'm guessing you are referring to your comments in this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34116509? If so, the comments you are looking for are probably under the two "folded" threads at the bottom.

I believe my account could potentially be shadow-banned (comments are pushed to the bottom always) due to a few years back i talked incessantly about the time Google invited me to demo technology of mine and they were pretty awful. Of course that's just my word yet when another HN member met the same people at Google ATAP and they patented her work without her consent then got caught with email evidence I did talk incessantly about it.

Eventually I was told by an admin here I need to chill / move on which I have and haven't talked about it in a two years or so.

Overall I just wanted to alert others that tech companies even ones who inspired you are not to be trusted. Demand tons of money if and when you get an invite!

I made a comment few weeks ago that was made with good intent bit criticized how the west and western companies look and treat non-western and non-democratic countries and undermine their sovreignity.

My HN posting habbits have not changed, used HN for 5yrs+ but right after that point I will spend a long time composing a comment and the get "you're posting too fast" throttling my post rate and a few other "shadow" limits I noticed. I would have maybe 30min for HN and other sites like this so I would read comments/posts and maybe reply 3-4 posts in ~1-2h window (30min spread over that time), nothing changed on my end and I am not spamming anyone.

I may say things that sound offensive but unless you assume I am commenting in bad faith, I take care to post something valuable and relevant that won't ruffle anyone's feathers too much.

Who knows, I hate shadow moderation but I have no proof there is one on HN either other than circumstantial stuff like this and for what reason? Is it over a misunderstanding? Something I can correct?

I never been much of a joiner so it isn't just HN, everywhere I go I disagree with everyone that holds on strongly to any bubble or hive mind, I don't think that can be avoidee if you pursue truth with sincerity and apply critical thinking. But I also know it isn't just what you say but how you say it that matters, so I am confused a bit.

I have seen deleted comments long after the edit time expires just not on my own to answer your question.

All this said though, this a YC site with a specific audience and goals not a general purpose social media so I understand having to accept more moderation especially given the resource constraints of the moderators.

Just glad I didn't get banned I guess? Enjoy the holidays.

Could you link to the thread?

It is possible that the comment you were responding to was marked as [dead], and that you have "showdead: no" in your profile.

deserved or not, there is shadowbanning in effect on hn. If you disagree with people enough, you'll end up on the list for offering counterpoints.

often it takes bravery to disagree with the crowd, and often only those who are most passionate have the guts to disagree.

The funning thing about HN is, we're all typing with our pinkies out, so you can disagree but if you dont do it with the utmost literary elegance and most bulletproof logic, it doesn't matter how right you were. Instead, what matters is that for a moment you stepped outside the parameters of gentility and your comments will be held for further review... forever.

Bravery and fact are not always intertwined, but you will nonetheless pay the price for your bravery. Don't be brave here unless you're confident in your abilities of presenting a point covertly.

There are name cleaning bots that downvote mentions of scandals of rich persons.. they can make a whole thread dissappear.

It's possible the person you were responding to deleted his/her comment, isolating your response.

Dang probably deleted it after he reprimanded you in the thread... why not ask him?

I've been told it's the culture and to get used to it.

If you get flagged by the echo chamber, good luck.