[saurik]

I don't think that comment is talking about "bots". Here: I just scrolled down a bit and found this user in this same thread.

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=aaron695

My theory is that such users do know their status but just figure it doesn't matter and that people like me--who absolutely browse the site with showdead and would want all my friends to as well, as I don't want to not hear what someone says merely because they got angry--do read their content, and people like us are their true audience.

[LinuxBender]

Also a good theory. I would love to have some insight into the backend of HN to see if there is more data available to paint a good picture. e.g. how many have showdead enabled for starters