Imagine how HN would look without moderation, if it allowed everyone to post "without discrimination". Then tell me that Section 230 was a bad idea.
The only reason you're able to have this conversation with us is because of Section 230. Without it, the only people left on this site would be spammers, trolls, and racists.
Are you suggesting we didn’t have conversations like this, quite successfully, on Usenet and other message boards prior
to the CDA being passed in 1996?
And why don't we use Usenet anymore? I'm too young to have used it, but Wikipedia offers a hint: "Almost all unmoderated Usenet groups have become collections of spam".[1] There were other factors too, but this seems like a major one. Who would want to stay on an unmoderated, spam-filled board? You have freedom of speech but there'd be no one around to listen.
The evidence suggests users like moderated spaces. Otherwise wouldn't your utopias of unmoderated free speech still be flourishing? Why aren't you on Usenet right now, and making your arguments over there?
The only reason you're able to have this conversation with us is because of Section 230. Without it, the only people left on this site would be spammers, trolls, and racists.