I don't think the person you're replying to thinks that college is a fantastic choice, just that coding bootcamps are often materially and objectively worse for most participants. If nothing else, colleges give you a diploma at the end, which is at least good for bypassing a minimum requirement at many companies. That's not to say that both are not bad, just that one preys on people distrustful (or regretful) of the other.

you don’t get a diploma if you don’t graduate… but you still have to pay back any loans

Sure. But the cost is, at least, well known up front. Again, it's not good. On the other hand, you've got boot camps. Nobody chooses a boot camp over college, it's folks who realized they need to change direction. The target market is people who are often desperate, who don't realize they're going to get an underwhelming education, and who often don't get a job to pay for the boot camp afterward.

It can also be 100% true that one competing thing can be worse than the other even if they are both bad

Coding camps charge $10k of more, some require a certain percentage of income, and you don't even get a credential. How many companies are looking for coding camp graduates, compared to companies that are looking for college grads?

College is a life-crushing mistake for millions of people.

It is a mistake if you do not graduate, but the data shows grads earn way more and have half the unemployment rate of high school grads.

How much is 6 months of undergrad going for these days? $10k doesn't sound that expensive, if the placement rate was true.