[_gabe_]

> The maintainer will respond with annoyance.

The maintainer is the face of the product in certain ways. We would never defend a corporate CEO responding in annoyance to their free/paid users because it's unprofessional and puts the brand in a negative spotlight. In the same way, if you're leading/promoting a project you are held to a higher standard. You can choose to ignore bad faith comments, or respond in a positive way to bring the discussion to a higher level of civility.

Yes, it's annoying to have people give bad faith criticisms. But if you want a product to succeed and you want to foster a positive community, you should always elevate the level of civil discourse. So I disagree with your sentiment that other users are moralizing here.

If I'm going to engage with a product, it gives me much higher confidence knowing that the maintainers conduct themselves in a professional manner, even when a user is unprofessional.