I definitely disagree with auto submitting but don't believe that Hacker News should be more locked down.

There is always a lot of complaints about content but there is an inherent system allowing posters to know what the mass wants rather than one commenter and making sure the best content rises.

Don't vote up anything you believe doesn't deserve to be on the front page or flag anything that deserves to be flagged. If there are very strict content guidelines some of the most interesting and obscure content won't be recommended for posting.