Thanks for being open about this. What made me think the comment was a personal attack was the combination of hostile sarcasm (not just &quot;reflexive dick-measuring&quot;, but also &quot;feel free&quot;) with introducing personal details.<p>It&#x27;s always risky to bring in new personal details about someone into a thread, but if the context makes it clear that it&#x27;s being done with good will, it can be ok. If the context is hostile, though, that&#x27;s basically never good.<p>We&#x27;re all hypocrites. The points one scores by digging up dirt to rub someone&#x27;s nose in aren&#x27;t worth the damage it does to the social fabric—at least in a place like HN where we care a lot about cohesion and it is always fragile.