There sure has been a shift though. You'd be just the guy to shed some light on these changes.
For example, when did flagged comments become unreadable, rather than simply folded up by default? I'd like to see the logic on that one, if any was given at all.
Was there an algorithm change that lets popular stories under active discussion on touchy subjects get disappeared with a few flags, or was that here from the start too?
Are there any logs you can point me to that would reveal the scale of removed stories over time?
It's hard to know what specifically you're referring to, but to the extent that I understand your questions, the answer is that things have worked that way for many years, certainly before I started moderating in 2012.
There was no need to post all those sibling comments; I didn't reply sooner because I simply hadn't seen this yet. That's one reason why the site guidelines ask you to email hn@ycombinator.com instead of posting like this in the threads.
For example, when did flagged comments become unreadable, rather than simply folded up by default? I'd like to see the logic on that one, if any was given at all.
Was there an algorithm change that lets popular stories under active discussion on touchy subjects get disappeared with a few flags, or was that here from the start too?
Are there any logs you can point me to that would reveal the scale of removed stories over time?