Counterpoint: HN is only good because it's moderated. The moderation is what distinguishes it from a chan board.
Counter-counterpoint: effective moderation doesn't require shadowbanning, and the ever increasing amount of chan-level garbage that gets moderated here demonstrates that shadowbanning doesn't make HN good, it just sweeps the bad under the rug.
but OP, how can I judge how good HN moderation is I can't read the comments that were removed/flagged?
You can turn on 'showdead' you settings to see flagged comments. I don't always agree with how HN is moderated (or with the decisions fellow HN users make about flagging), but the majority of flagged comments are exactly the kind of thing you'd expect.
it was more of a principle-type of question, not a how-to
I do have them visible
And I 100% don't agree, most of them are just against the grain opinions. And some are spam, I guess.