The "be nice" norm is obviously good and important, but I also think different norms need to come into play here: (1) Due to asymmetric balance of power, modera

The "be nice" norm is obviously good and important, but I also think different norms need to come into play here: (1) Due to asymmetric balance of power, moderators need to hold themselves to higher standards of behaviour than the community and (2) Criticism of the moderator has to be treated differently from criticism of regular users. There's a fine line between deleting comments which are critical of the moderator(s) because they are deemed "unconstructive" and simply being high-handed. I don't know if Atwood actually crossed the line here, but I believe the perception that he _may have_ has hurt this community more than the (relatively minor) initial transgression of the "be nice" rule.