alt Hacker NewsFor me I think this veers dangerously close to tone policing. I don't think you have to always be extremely civil in the face of what you consider moral bankruptcy. But I can also understand that it creates a vicious cycle so I can appreciate your position here.
Thanks for the discussion and (partially) understanding :)
The use of terms like “moral bankruptcy” is exactly what the guidelines ask us to avoid, indeed explicitly so with the phrase “Assume good faith”.
Part of the challenge of participating on HN is to be able to come into contact with people who see and do things differently (including building software projects in a way that's different from the way we consider proper) and find a way to recognize that they are still acting in good faith and deserving of basic courtesy.