First, the guidelines apply no matter who or what you are replying to. If it were okay to ignore the guidelines any time we found a particular comment unpalatable, there'd be no point having them.
Second, your participation in the thread began as fulmination, with “I am so very tired of people who...”, and then continues in this belligerent style right through to your reply to me...
> This is a regurgitation of a marketing slogan frequented
> It's intellectually insulting to be subject to as it relies primarily on fear to convince
This style of argumentation is beneath what we're hoping for on HN, as it paints a simplistic conspiracy theory or narrow commercial incentive as the only plausible explanation for a trend. Things are never that simple, and arguments like that shut off curiosity, when the primary purpose of HN is to cultivate more curiosity.
I am not positing any sort of conspiracy. The sentiment is also frequented by people who have no commercial incentive to say it - possibly a result of a successful marketing campaign, possibly a conclusion they came to independently, or possibly some other reason - the reason is not something I would know. But I stand by my assertion that the argument is primarily an appeal to emotion - fear. And I do not see how acknowledging that (albeit in a less emotive way than I initially did) is beneath the standards of discussion for HN.
That said - I can keep my fulminations to myself and phrase my posts in a less confrontational manner. Those aren't exactly conducive to productive discussion.
Second, your participation in the thread began as fulmination, with “I am so very tired of people who...”, and then continues in this belligerent style right through to your reply to me...
> This is a regurgitation of a marketing slogan frequented
> It's intellectually insulting to be subject to as it relies primarily on fear to convince
This style of argumentation is beneath what we're hoping for on HN, as it paints a simplistic conspiracy theory or narrow commercial incentive as the only plausible explanation for a trend. Things are never that simple, and arguments like that shut off curiosity, when the primary purpose of HN is to cultivate more curiosity.