I don't think whether it's an attack or not has much to do with the factual basis of a private disagreement that they had 4 years ago and how that speaks to patio11's character or the quality of his advice now.

Not that I'm sticking up for Patrick. I frequently find myself in (often silent) disagreement with him, but the post was extremely flimsy to me and not much more than an offsite meta-discussion that contributes neither to the original discussion nor this community. I flagged the link but since it remains I think this is worth discussing.

Its an attack whether or not its a statement of fact.