I think this is a case where if you had followed your own rules to begin with, this whole discussion thread could have been avoided. There was nothing wrong wit

I think this is a case where if you had followed your own rules to begin with, this whole discussion thread could have been avoided. There was nothing wrong with your observation of possible incivility - I've noticed you're very attuned to it. You were absolutely doing your job by calling it out. However, the way you worded it gave no context for what was wrong (shallow), implied that the poster had not read the site guidelines (snarky), and ignored the small possibility that "cute" was not intended to be condescending (the strongest possible interpretation of what they said). It seems I don't think it would have compromised your message if you had been both more specific and a little more polite the first time around. Something like "Your use of 'cute' appears condescending and snarky. This is against the site rules, which you can find here <link>." I think people are more receptive to that tone anyway, and if you do happen to be accidentally overzealous, you've allowed enough room for both of you to save face. I realise that I too should have posted this comment the first time around, and my initial reply to you (a simple quotation of the site rules I believed you to have violated) was also shallow and snarky, in precisely the same way. So, sorry about that. By way of apology, let me express that I am grateful for the excellent work you do, and that I would surely be much ruder in your position.