[ruggeri]

You might be downvoted regardless, as you suggest, but the guidelines are still the social contract of HN.

What you call "less than apologetically polite" I would call "not kind" and "snarky." Did you feel kindness toward the gp when you replied?

If you think you're actually following the guidelines, then you must carry on.

[potato3732842]

There is no social contract in scored internet comment sections. The herd will do what makes the number go up. If a large number of people showed up and upvoted every racist comment to the moon the verbiage in here would pivot almost overnight. Mobs don't have self awareness or free will.

[ruggeri]

I think you can't directly acknowledge the guidelines because you know you are willfully violating them.

The guidelines are the rules of the road for the community. The moral obligation to follow the guidelines is not conditional on whether you think the community is a mob. Even if you thought you have no obligation to the community, your behavior is still disrespectful to the intentions of the moderators.

The way you write makes it seem like you hold both the community and the guidelines in contempt. What is the purpose for you in participating in this community? Would it not be better for you and the community both if you stop posting like this?