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Not to sound harsh but I'm getting some major sociopath vibes from the author
I think this is a non-necessary comment. This shouldn‘t be on HN. You might want to rephrase that.
well, the whole post shouldn't be no HN
<whisper>I’m not going to respond to you</whisper>
If you follow the author on Twitter I think you'll find that he wouldn't entirely disagree with you. He's openly discussed how he sees people as systems to be observed and studied.
Like an anthropologist, or a psychologist...
More like an incel.

There's a difference between detachment and objectivity. The article in question makes a lots of leaps of logic to connect unrelated ideas and the site in general gives me the impression I'd expect from someone who still thinks Malthus was right. Acceptable output from an angsty teenager, not so much from an adult professional.

I wouldn't armchair diagnose the author with sociopathy but they do seem like they'd give the expected answer when prompted with the hoax "psychopath test" funeral riddle.

“Incel” is a moronic term to apply to a married man.
Could it be the advert for his book 'Be slightly evil: A playbook for sociopaths' by any chance?
Bits I especially liked:

Then there’s softer Gemeinschaft ghost protocols, like the one the housed adopt towards the homeless.

A ghost protocol cannot be announced or otherwise ceremonialized. Cancelation, exile, or excommunication are not forms of ghosting.

This is what people mean when they talk about 'ghosting' other people online.
Is shadow banning a form of ghost protocol? something HN of course engages in.
There are a lot of smart people here who are shadow banned, I'm constantly vouching for accounts who have zero warnings or any mod-correspondence to show for it. It kind of feels like Reddit except there's no coherent ideology being censored, just random nerds who say interesting things I can't read without squinting or selecting.
I spend a lot of time vouching as well.

Is that actual shadowbanning? Or just overzealous flagging by certain users?

Since it is without explanation in the majority of cases, I can only assume it is overzealous dangs and other mod team members that are less visible. They are immediate, and without explanation.
Is being childless really that much of an ostracisation in (I assume) North America? It is certainly noone else's business (save for maybe your parents) here in Northern Europe.
(comment deleted)
Not really. I suppose it's the author struggling with dogma. Let's hope they make it through to the other side.