seems like that should be something that belongs on the client side, along with filtering rules or anything else to directly influence my experience of how I use it. e.g. client doesn't pull replies to that post so you don't see them; or client filters out all replies with 'clown' in them and doesn't display them.

Anyone might be able to say anything - but you don't have to see it.

Youtubers might turn comments off, but they're still linked and talked about elsewhere on snark forums. If a client could build a robust 'protect my ears' feature people could filter themselves into whatever depth of bubble they liked. (only brand new to Nostr so might have missed something key)