I think HN strips starting blank lines,
  but it may work when done after a line with some char like: .

         0 ┤ ╭───╮ Homer made burger
           │ │ ● │ ╭───╮ McBurger
         2 ┤ ╰───╯ │ ○ │  ╭─────╮
           │       ╰───╯  │  *  │ Food truck burger
         4 ┤              ╰─────╯
           │
           │                         ╭─────╮
         6 ┤                         │  ■  │ this was edited btw
           │                         ╰─────╯                   ╭─────╮
         8 ┤                                   Hairport burger │  ▲  │
           │                                                   ╰─────╯
        10 └┬────────────┬───────────┬────────────┬───────────┬────────────┬
           $0           $8          $16          $24         $32          $40

https://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc

  crimes ↑
         │
   10.0  ┤                                           ● Airport burger
         │                                      ╭──────────────╮
    8.0  ┤                                      │  theft arc   │
         │                                      ╰──────────────╯
    6.0  ┤                         ● Five Guys
         │
    4.0  ┤              ● Food truck burger
         │
    2.0  ┤      ● McBurger
         │
    0.0  ┤ ● Homemade burger
         │
         └───────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────→ price
                $2        $8        $14       $22       $38

  ┌────────────────────┬────────┬──────────────┬────────────────────┐
  │ burger             │ price  │ crime index  │ expected behavior  │
  ├────────────────────┼────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────┤
  │ Homemade burger    │   $2   │          0.0 │ law-abiding citizen│
  │ McBurger           │   $6   │          1.4 │ steals extra napkin│
  │ Food truck burger  │  $11   │          3.1 │ lies about hunger  │
  │ Five Guys          │  $18   │          6.2 │ financial crime    │
  │ Airport burger     │  $34   │          9.7 │ enters villain arc │
  └────────────────────┴────────┴──────────────┴────────────────────┘

  conclusion: burger inflation is a gateway condiment