> Assume good faith
One of the HN rules, and one that I think would vastly improve on line discourse if others followed it. I have to go on FB from time to time (since that's where a community I follow is based) and it's horrifying how quickly and often things spiral out of control, when the protagonists are probably pretty OK people IRL.
Even if someone is being a jerk, responding in this way can often make them pull their head in.
I wish I was better at this.
I think there's a lesson there. Comments are just that, comments. Try not to read too much into them, they are severely lacking in the necessary context. Assume good faith in the absence of something very explicit that suggests otherwise.