Obviously, not documenting things and writing the most clever code possible makes it difficult for other people to read your code, there’s no doubt about that.

Obviously, not documenting things and writing the most clever code possible makes it difficult for other people to read your code, there’s no doubt about that. And the story acknowledges that. It’s clear that Mel is a very clever programmer but probably a pain to work with. But your comment is just so dismissive of the point of the story, Mel’s cleverness. It comes across like you saying “This person sounds awful because they’re smarter than me.” I can assume that’s not what you’re trying to say, but that’s what it sounds like. If you wrote a more nuanced comment acknowledging that, e.g. ‘while I would love the opportunity to learn from someone like that, I’m glad I don’t have to work with them or maintain their code.’ I would be more inclined to see your comment as contributing to the discussion.