Hellwig's position

I don’t think this is about rights - there is a point where language usage is intended to denigrate as much as inform. Ie, when a conversation becomes more about having a fight than discussing. The use of very emotive language is one sign of this and it’s not unreasonable for particular places to suggest it’s inappropriate sometimes.

In other words if a word is intended to express seeing red and make those who read it see red, maybe it shouldn’t be in a technical discussion regardless of meaning. Context and nuance matter here too.

This is not about freedom of speech. This is about not being a complete jerk.

You have the right to say horrible things to everyone around you. But as a mature adult, you have the responsibility to think about the consequences of doing that. Everyone around you has the right to decide that they don't want to work with people who say horrible things on a regular basis (or even once, if they are so inclined). That's just the other side of the free speech coin - freedom of association. If group A does not want to put up with person B, then they are not obliged to do so.

Codes of Conduct, flawed as they may be, are ultimately just a way of writing down exactly how nasty someone has to get before we all agree to stop talking to them. There can be no infringement of anyone's rights in doing that.

I absolutely do have that right, and that obligation. YCombinator is over there somewhere.