One of the things that was made clear to me when I became a mod was, ca.com was/is wanting to move beyond the impression some past mods gave that this site is moderated with very little professionalism. Its true this is not a profession, but this is a site that wants as many people to feel welcome and respected as is possible. Sometimes that means a mod cant act like he's trying to make friends, but rather must act like he's trying to maintain order. Id rather make friends than enemies, but Id rather keep the site professional and welcoming even more than either of those two options.
As for the specifics with you, if you want to PM me to discuss anything, Id be glad to have that conversation. In fact, I probably should have made the reply you quoted in PM form, rather than post it here on the public domain. For that much at least I do apologize.