I think you don't realize that you are in fact treating us as kids or teenagers. Telling someone his, in good faith, comment, is below the guideline threshold is insulting. It's one of the polite, absolutely not vulgar, ways, to say someone's comment is idiotic without answering it. If you think someone hasn't provided enough evidence to back his claim, please ask him to do in a meaningful discussion. The kind of remarks where you just assume someone is just a weird internet troll, do not serve the discussion, nor the website users. Please understand that saying something politely, as in hiding behind the guidelines, doesn't make it acceptable if the message is insulting. We should thrive to build a community based on mutual respect.
I don't agree that HN moderation comments are doing anything like that. Most of the posts I reply to aren't idiotic (to use your word), and most comments that might strike me personally as idiotic (again, your word not mine) are within the site guidelines.
Moderation isn't about assessing who's right or wrong on a topic. That's the community's job, and I'm pretty sure the bulk of the community would not at all appreciate it if we tried to take that role.
The guidelines are kind of vague on purpose. When you say that some comment is a flamebait it is insulting. When you say that someone's comment is just an internet trope, it's insulting. You don't just enforce guidelines, you also make a very subjective judgement. I'm not going to argue anymore, I feel like talking to a politician that answers with bad faith and dodges the point.
