I assume myself and others like me since it is being posted on a forum where each and every comment has not only an audience but a points-based rating system

Regardless of authorial intent, everything posted here is for the wider HN audience

I will concede I had assumed a more educated audience, which could pick out reference to a particular linguistic style, rather than confusing it for a wild joy ride through thesaurus.com

Conversely, if you yourself write solely for points, then you might as well be a machine - for all reasonable virtues of truth, community, and free expression will find themselves at odds with such petty incentives. I am happy to lose a karma or two to speak my own mind, rather than playing puppet for your upvote.