It would be easier for everyone involved, and not depend on mods being awake, if HN didn't just automatically drastically change the meaning of headlines.
Again, this post was misrepresenting Raymond's words for over 7 hours. That's most of its time on the front page. The current system doesn't work.
This is the first time i have seen the auto-editorializing algorithm make a mess of the semantic meaning of a sentence which is certainly unfortunate. In most other cases (which are quite rare btw) it is generally much more benign. I presume the mods will be taking another look at their algorithm.
However, given the ways people try to influence the content on HN via title, language, brigading etc. it is good that the algorithm be strict rather than loose to prevent casual gaming of the system. And it works quite well contrary to your claim.
Again, this post was misrepresenting Raymond's words for over 7 hours. That's most of its time on the front page. The current system doesn't work.