[dang]

Obviously it's rare for us to intervene in a comment that way (and never without letting them know), but in this case it was the lesser evil compared to compromising another user's privacy. Copying what they posted along with their username is basically overriding their deletion, and that was their choice to make, not yours.

I'm sure it wasn't that big a deal and I'm sure your intentions were good, but I'm also pretty sure most HN users would want us to protect them in this way, if only for the rare occasion on which it actually is a big deal.