Who cares if it's "contentless?" Interactions on HN are frequently petty, mean spirited, and uncivil. Two people who are extremely active and give a lot to two different communities but don't know each other in real life had a pleasant interaction here that could have a fruitful outcome. Was this an event of Earth-shattering importance? No. But to read it as an illustration of the "vapidity...that infects open source projects" strikes me as noxiously cynical.