for some users there is a "showdead" option in your profile settings. set it to yes, if the option is available for you. it might be based on karma, but HN has a lot of anti-patterns.

this will show you flagged and shadowbanned comments. someone is shadowbanned if all their comments are not visible by default. its kind of unique that there is an option for us to see those comments.

you can always check if you are shadowbanned by viewing your profile or a recent thread you commented on in an incognito browser. always useful to check.

go to your settings and enable “show dead”