Apparently HN has a "flamewar" detector. Perhaps this is the reason?

I found it referenced here https://qht.co/item?id=39230513

Thank, that's helpful: https://qht.co/item?id=39232830

I've sent an email.

This question is so frequently asked that we put it in the FAQ: https://qht.co/newsfaq.html. See "How are stories ranked?" and "Why is A ranked below B even though A has more points and is newer?"

About that specific post, see https://qht.co/item?id=39524850.

Thanks for explaining! Can you maybe tell me why this question is hidden as well? Did it get flagged or trigger the same algorithm?

Users flagged it, and correctly. See https://qht.co/newsguidelines.html: "Please don't post on HN to ask or tell us something. Send it to hn@ycombinator.com." That's probably what pvg was referring to.

Generally speaking it's too easy for meta discussion (i.e. discussion about the site, or discussion about discussion about the site) to take over the site.

There’s another bit in the faq about mailing such questions to the mods rather than posting them to hn so they usually get moderated and/or downweighted by user flags.

Probably a combination of people flagging and lots of comments. If you want to know for sure, use the Contact link in the footer to email the mods.

Thanks! Why would people be flagging, other than those working at Netlify? And lots of comments penalizes? I didn't know!

The average post on HN has two votes per comment. If a post is getting a lot more than that (say more than one) it is very possible that a knock-down-drag-out discussion is going on. So the system suppresses discussions that get a lot of comments.

I have a model that predicts the comment/vote ratio for a given headline, high scoring headlines often look like clickbait such as "Salt Bae restaurant charging nearly 700 pounds for a steak cuts heating to save cash" or "Are male and female brains that different? Surely there are better questions to ask"

Interesting! Dare to share?