"You're wrong, jackass" is not ad hominem, because no one is saying you're wrong because you're a jackass, they're first saying that you're wrong and then concluding based on that that you're a jackass. Ad hominem is dismissing an argument based on the characteristics of the one making it, and no one has done that.
Not ad hominem, agreed, but certainly rude. However, I disagree that the poster characterised the situation in this way! He never called him a jackass, and it can't even be said that what was stated was equivalent to this.
The original post made an observation about a way they perceived nirvana posts to HN, then gave substantial reasons why they disagreed with him. There was no aggression tha I could read, only disagreement.
Nirvana is wrong that the original post was the equivalent of "you're wrong, jackass". There were no insults given, this is entirely something that nirvana has read into the post and that isn't there.
