Try submitting a URL from the following domains, and it will be automatically flagged (but you can't see it's flagged unless you log out):
- archive.is
- watcher.guru
- stacker.news
- zerohedge.com
- freebeacon.com
- thefederalist.com
- breitbart.comEdit: about 67k sites are banned on HN. Here's a random selection of 10 of them:
vodlockertv.com
biggboss.org
infoocode.com
newyorkpersonalinjuryattorneyblog.com
moringajuice.wordpress.com
surrogacymumbai.com
maximizedlivingdrlabrecque.com
radio.com
gossipcare.com
tecteem.comThe parts that don't work especially well, most particularly discussion of difficult-but-important topics (in my view) ... have also been acknowledged by its creator pg (Paul Graham) and mods (publicly, dang, though there are a few others).
In general: if you submit a story and it doesn't go well, drop a note to the moderators: hn@ycombinator.com. They typically reply within a few hours, perhaps a day or if things are busy or for complex.
You can verify that a submission did or didn't go through by checking on the link from an unauthenticated (logged-out) session.
> You can verify that a submission did or didn't go through by checking on the link from an unauthenticated (logged-out) session.
Trustful users do not think to do this, and it would not be necessary if the system did not keep the mod action secret.
Those who have been advised to do so, through the Guidelines, FAQ, comments, or moderator notes, do, to their advantage.
(I'd had a submission shadowbanned as it came from the notoriously flameworthy site LinkedIn a month or few back. I noticed this, emailed the mods, and got that post un-banned. Just to note that the process is in place, and does work.)