I wouldn't be too surprised if the ranking system worked pretty much exactly as the article describes still.
But I also assume the automated (and manual) penalty system has evolved significantly. I'll bet it's evolving rapidly right now, in response to attacks trying to game ranking by people deploying agents. I'd be a little surprised if YC/HN are not right up there with state of the art bot detection tech.
But I also assume the automated (and manual) penalty system has evolved significantly. I'll bet it's evolving rapidly right now, in response to attacks trying to game ranking by people deploying agents. I'd be a little surprised if YC/HN are not right up there with state of the art bot detection tech.