When many comments break side guidelines and the thread is wretched, then that feels odd and usual for me for HN. Probably you see more threads like this and it isn't unusual, but for me it feels not at all what I expect and relate to what I think happens on HN. This speaks for the quality of this site. Thanks for the info!
Alas, we do see a lot of threads like this, way too many to feel so great about this place. But it does feel good to hear from a user to whom it is unusual.
This might be a clear case of a selection bias. When the quality of threads goes down, I tend to stay away from them and the moderators need to interact more with it. When a thread has a fantastic quality, I feel a urge to interact with it, to read it, while the moderation is not needed.
