I think your post and @Tef's comment were fine. I am glad we are having this discussion. :)

I think you simply followed through with your way of showing appreciation and condolences to a fellow stacker which many other stackers also did, just not in the way you did. They probably simply didn't think as much about the post as you seem to have done. And that's very honorable of you! I smiled when I saw this post and the challenge so I zapped it a little but making a challenge out of it might have been too much, haha

While on the other hand, @Tef might have actually done something similar: they mentioned what many stackers might had in the back of their mind when reading this post but didn't want to challenge the tone of this post for whatever reason. I am glad @Tef mentioned that since it allows others to engage in the discussion.

I think we need more people like both of you. Less compliance, more authenticity.