I suspect it's because people aren't reading the guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#:~:text=Ple...
That said dang does an admirable job.
Now, I just need to fix where it thinks cat video games are revenge porn…
It's possible that we have different interpretations of what counts as a flamewar, but the likeliest explanation is just that we don't see everything.
If you see a comment that hasn't been moderated and should have been, you can always let us know at hn@ycombinator.com.
Please don't post comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. It's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills.
Edit: I know, that it is a semi-noob illusion as he says and people have said it for years. I've been here for years and actually feel an increasing decline (and I don't think I am alone - this is like the second time this question has been asked in a week) - but the argument is used to shut down conversation regarding HN's decline rather than just keep newcomers in check.
I think we can pretty safely say that 13 years in, the transformation hasn't finished yet. So it's totally okay to discuss this (as clearly shown by this thread being on the front page), but if you want to make that argument, you should probably have more data points than a gut feeling.