The problem HN is facing is a human-interaction problem of which hiding or showing points on comments won't solve. Sooner or later, problems with user experience will come about one way or the other.

I saw some other post about the Whirlpool Moderation forum (http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/wp_modfaq) and thought the transparent moderation policy they have is pretty amazing. PG et al should at least research it and consider implementing something similar.