Solarpunk

When a moderator makes a request for moderation in someone's conduct, it seems weird to ignore the aspect of them being a moderator. It's not about the rules, per se, but if their request is done from the office of a moderator then that use of authority should be as fair as possible.

As for it being a good suggestion, personal attacks like this, where you're only 'personally' attacking deep-rooted opinions (including ones someone personally identifies with), are valid. For example, you don't need to have a civil debate about whether trans people deserve to pee with a transphobe. If you can win the peer pressure battle, a personal attack is better for everyone involved. Our liberal education has whitewashed history to make it seem like civil debate between neutral people had a much bigger part in progress than it did. Personal attacks are a form of peer pressure, getting people to re-examine deep-rooted beliefs that in a discussion they would cling to as axioms.

There are other valid ways to put on peer pressure, whether it's inviting envy by having a happier life, whether it's building friendship and rapport until they're open to trying to something out, or whether it's a reward in the form of bragging rights, prestige, or upvote karma. But this time this one felt right.