Positive reinforcement is giving credibility to people who are doing something worthy.
Taking something good away is negative punishment. You are removing something they want, to reduce (punish) the behaviour (not reinforce it). Classic case is taking a kid's toys away when he won't behave.
Of course, these things are mixed. If receiving bad comments online is hurtful, then that is positive punishment. The removal of credibility is an added sting.
Positive reinforcement is correct in that example yes.
I've been involved in dog training where some people are really into this, while others twist the concepts to suit them, so getting it right is a bit of a personal peeve.
What you're doing instead is diverging the conversation towards a topic that is unrelated to the subject; while in the process satisfying your own ego.
And yes, I meant "negative punishment" vs "negative reinforcement".
So negative reinforcement is taking something bad away to reinforce a behaviour you want to see more of. e.g. umbrella and rain, eating and hunger, etc.