zlacker

Just to be clear, there's one main mod (dang) and they don't flag submissions, that honour falls to regular users who've been here a year or three or more (whatever the time | point threshold is).

Most of the users that can [flag] also have the option to [vouch]. If enough vouch the flag is reveresed (as far as I know).

>>defros+(OP)
You can't vouch for posts, only comments.

>>Philpa+o
I have vouched for posts .. but it doesn't always appear as an option ...

Addendum1: I haven't compiled a detailed cross referenced list of observations about HN .. but it's got a lot of little subtle quirks from custom coding .. I suspect there's a window for submission vouching that's only open to users with certain other privlege escalations, or perhaps a stochastic element throws that chance to a random few .. eg: I have no option to vouch for this flagged submission, but I have had that option on others.

Addendum2: Jtsummers may well be right. There may also still be other odd little factors <shrug>.

>>Philpa+o
You can vouch for posts, but only once they're [dead]. [flagged] is not [dead] on its own, and so nothing can be done by users yet (other than maybe reaching out to the mod). If it acquires enough flags to become [dead], then those of us with enough karma could vouch for it.

Note that the same thing is true for comments. Occasionally, but not often, you'll find a [flagged] comment that isn't [dead], you can't vouch for those either. Only once they become [dead] can they be vouched for.

>>defros+(OP)
Dang has directly commented on this post now. He is upholding the flag, which makes him complicit.

>>Tadpol+fp
> Dang has directly commented on this post now.

Okay. He does comment most days.

> He is upholding the flag, ..

Is he? Like "actively" .. or just letting things work as they are designed and as HN users have made happen?

> which makes him complicit.

Does it?

If so, is there a legal path by which we can punish him for this?

Maybe you've invested a little to much of yourself in an online forum.