Comment by perching_aix

Some would disagree, but I'm squarely of the opinion that comments being inciteful and insightful are not mutually exclusive properties. This is only compounded when you're the kind of person who goes out of their way to try find meaning in what people say (and since that's subjective, you can basically find a perspective in anything if you try hard enough).

I find this to be kind of the whole reason why acting inciteful is socially problematic anyways: it derails conversations. It's also why I can consider it malicious: you can lay into this effect parasitically, with intention. You point to HN; I find that this idea is reflected in the HN guidelines as well (or at least the lessons from it are), but also that it's by no means immune.