It's not that the poster couldn't praise the Trib (as the title of the article suggests), its that the poster had already misbehaved in this category to such an extent that he was no longer allowed to comment, one way or another, about HC issues.

I assume another poster would have been allowed to praise the Trib.

Jefe, consider this post my mod application. 😄

Either way, a supposedly reputable publication whining about message board moderation is pretty comical.