This comment is also out of line. Two wrongs do not make a right, and personal attacks are absolutely unwelcome on Hacker News. It doesn't matter how provocative the other person was being.
When you see something provocative on HN, please reflect before responding. Fighting poison with poison makes things worse. Please either add comments that make things better, or no comments.
When responding to a toxic comment, re-read what you just posted to make sure that you didn't slip up and make a toxic comment yourself. If you did, edit out the acidity until your comment is neutral; or simply delete it. That's what I do, and I can tell you from long experience that this approach works.
Off topic, but thanks for wading in and describing the moderator viewpoint, even if it isn't fun. :) I think more moderator transparency is helpful, even if it ends up being something I disagree with[1].
[1] Not anything that I saw in this thread, just theoretically.
Sure. It's an experiment to see if we can help get things on track by putting feedback into the system. Also, the community needs a good dose of responsiveness, and I'm able to do that now.
My answer to the no-fun bit is that it's temporary. :)
