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Is it really the moderators that make a community special? They are vital no doubt but I have never came here for the moderation.

For me the magic of a niche community like a subreddit or HN is when a 99th percentile expert in the subject shows up and gives everybody a brilliant lecture on the actual truth of things. These are not 99th percentile in Reddit use or post count or any of those things.

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> I have never came here for the moderation.

The moderators (and the algorithm they support and tune) are why the conversation on HN is compelling enough to attract 99th percentile experts on just about every subject.

Moderators are the invisible hand pruning the garden weeds. You might not always see them working, but they allow the space necessary for the good conversations to grow and thrive. Their absence would be felt quickly.

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