Which is fine, but then that should be disclosed, not because they have to, but out of good faith. Most of the tech community, myself included, has high regards for PG and YC. If secret pay-to-play relationships exist, they erode that trust.

To be clear, I don't think that there are pay-to-play relationships between YC and TC, at least not any that would lead them to actively edit HN submissions to be from TC. However, a secret group of mods are leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I hope PG will take this opportunity to clear up exactly what the mods' roles are, and what permissions/oversight they have.