Agreed, and I think HN is one of the best examples of a properly moderated social site, and it does so without crushing dissenting opinions (See: random subreddit mods on a power trip). I like that you can generally see a range of opinions on HN that would get downvoted into oblivion or deleted outright on other sites.
Good moderation, IMO, should aim to punish behaviors, not opinions, which ultimately results in a healthy discussion that isn't just an echo chamber. Unfortunately, this is rather difficult to do without human moderation, and so Meta and friends would much rather just pretend it's unsolvable because they don't want to pay mods.
Nazis can learn to be polite if that's what keeps them on a platform, but they're still Nazis. If someone says "Respectfully, I must disagree that Jews are equal to others" they should still be banned.
Good moderation, IMO, should aim to punish behaviors, not opinions, which ultimately results in a healthy discussion that isn't just an echo chamber. Unfortunately, this is rather difficult to do without human moderation, and so Meta and friends would much rather just pretend it's unsolvable because they don't want to pay mods.