The HN guidelines specifically ask you not to do what you're doing, and say what to do if you have a genuine concern:
> Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading, foreign agents, and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data.
Huh, I didn't recall that. FWIW I have e-mailed them in the past and gotten detected abusers banned, but didn't this time because it's just a suspicion. Didn't realise posting about hunches was against the guidelines, though, that's my mistake.