> s people pre-flagging topics that are likely to result in a contentious flamewar in the comment section.

I’ve never understood this argument: if you don’t want to participate in a discussion, then don’t, but why stop others from doing so? No one is obligated to click into the comments section, read, or take part in any discussion on HN. Even when discussions get heated, in my experience they’re still better than similar discussions elsewhere on the internet.

> Of course plenty of stories are killed because they go against the narrative that a particular reader likes, so there definitely is some censorship

I think this is the main reason for flagging.