I reckon it kind of depends on what we want to achieve. Sometimes a quiet, reasonable word to someone might actually get them to reflect on what they say & why they say it, reveal to them that they've crossed a line, and then produce a change in how they view things - which is presumably what the aim is. While snotting someone might make us feel better, it might not always produce a change in the attitude of the person - but then again, it may well teach them to think before they speak!! And in this case, it sounds like the person who posted the comment was a kid, in which case Eddie's explanation made sense, and I saw the way he dealt with it as a great credit to his thoughtfulness. However, as someone who hasn't ever witnessed such comments, or been on the receiving end of them, it is perhaps easier for me to have a more detached view, and I'm aware of the fact that how I'd like to think I'd deal with such a situation might be different from what I would do in reality - I'd like to think I'd take a Morgan approach (I'm not much of a fighter, so Conan is probably unrealistic) rather than be someone who sits quietly wishing I could do something but not sure what, but as I said, who knows what I will actually do if it happens.
