The question is not whether attacking the ball is preferred--it is.
The question is whether the forum should censor topics that raise strong feelings about that ball.
Pg said that flat insults without intellectual content (e.g. "you're gay") are not an issue because they quickly get downvoted.
I believe in a curated forum, I just think meta-drama brought up by attention whores is the worst sort of drama--NOT the "uncivil" arguments about various platforms.
I think PG's stated principles helped build HN. I don't know why you want to dilute them when everywhere-but-HN is already the forum you're pushing for.