More than 20 years passed and nothing really changed. What makes you think it will be different now. It's a "Tango" part 2 all over again. Except now, the ship has long sailed.
They didn't say it would be different now, they're just reminding people that Walter is here on HN so to try to be respectful and realize that he's a human being too. Unlike most here, he's attached his real identity to this project, so drive by anonymous pot shots would be inappropriate.