For every thread that I comment on there are usually several that I read because I find others' comments informative or thought-provoking. Reading comments is basically why I am on HN. There may be the same dynamic in play here.
On the topic itself -- this war, and the world reaction to it, is a critical part of modern history and will likely influence political, military and technological developments for years to come. I would love to hear more smart people express an opinion on it. Flagging greatly limits this.
fair point, HN could maybe do a better job making the "canonical" thread more discoverable for those that look for it (now that I think of it, flagged might remove it from search too even if not flag-killed, that's not ideal and would be an argument for removing that mark for the first thread, even if stays penalized in ranking)
On the topic itself -- this war, and the world reaction to it, is a critical part of modern history and will likely influence political, military and technological developments for years to come. I would love to hear more smart people express an opinion on it. Flagging greatly limits this.