&quot;Merely restated&quot; is a false description. What you said was a personal attack by the standard that applies here: your language was both hostile and personal. That&#x27;s not allowed on HN, so please don&#x27;t do it again.<p>Bud also shouldn&#x27;t have said &quot;phrase used by assholes&quot;, something that was plainly false and guaranteed to provoke. But by attacking personally, what you did was worse.