Spolsky's response to that was, to me, so authoritative that I found myself physically nodding my head. I am not always nice, but I find it hard to argue about the value of that norm. So I read your comment as a bit of a "thrown elbow". What you call "non-transparent heavy handedness", I think many reasonable people could call "active nurturing and cultivation of a functioning community". You don't have to like that community. Start your own.