I think that @PhilTaylor (Phil) was triggered by @Pe7er's (Peter) answer because the positive points that Peter made toward yoursites.net were interpreted by Phil as being exclusive benefits/features that the other services did not provide.

Consider this re-framed/fabricated post which might answer which pets are easy to keep:

Millions of people have birds, cats and dogs.

I recommend having fish because:

1. You don't need to exercise them.
2. They don't make much noise.
3. You don't need to wash them in a bathtub.

Obviously, these are not exclusive aspects. A bird doesn't need exercising. A cat doesn't make much noise. You get the point.

I do not have the necessary knowledgeable to specify which services in Peter's answer do or do not have certain features/attributes, but an answer that accurately clarifies these points would be super valuable to researchers. This specific improvement can be executed by Peter at any time or suggested by anyone who knows -- you don't even need a JSE account to suggest an edit.

"Advertising" software or a service can definitely be appropriate on JSE -- this is not an automatic violation of rules. It is important, though, that:

1. posts are not blatantly self-promoting and
2. any affiliation with a product or service MUST be declared and
3. the primary intent of the post must be to educate/inform.

I don't find Peter's post to be in direct violation of these principles.

As for the second post where Phil edited his own answer, I was drawn to this post because it was sent to the top of the active posts list -- something that I monitor at least once daily.

The question that Phil answered was basically asking if Akeeba's backup software was secure.

@nikosdion posted an excellent answer that makes a compelling and factual defence for why his software is trustworthy.

When I saw Phil's edit, my first impulse was to either convert the low-value answer into a comment under the question or outright delete it. Phil's recent actions were not ideal, but I do not expect perfection -- actions that can be improved represent opportunities to invest in community members. Also there is no benefit in further adding to the ire of a community member that is feeling hard-done-by.

To be frank not only did his answer contain more irrelevant than relevant content, the only semi-supportive statement was that there are millions of sites that use this software.

While I personally believe that the Akeeba backup software is very secure, any answer needs to be supported by relevant facts.

Whether I personally know @nikosdion, I met him at a garage sale, our daughters go to ballet together, or he attended my bar mitzvah -- none of these things have any value to researchers on the topic of software security. I have no regrets about editing the irrelevant text from the answer and I wouldn't have hesitated to approve someone else who suggested the same edit.

As for millions of people using the software, it could be argued that that fact is an insufficient defence. After all, millions of people use Microsoft / Facebook / Sony / etc software and they can even be hacked. If we are going full-blown tinfoil hat time, nothing is 100% secure. Don't worry, I am not going there.

In the end, I think it was the right choice to strip back Phil's answer and leave it as an answer for the benefit of researchers.

Finally, there is Phil's incredulity that I've never heard of him. This was not a lie. I have been meeting dozens of Joomlers via meetups, JDays, and online over the last couple of years, but I haven't met everyone. I have not been around since the Mambo years. Before 2018, I had never even heard of Joomla. So, you see, there will be dozens of pillars in the Joomla community that I don't know by name and who don't know me. This is no one's fault -- this is just how it is. I do not have time or energy to troll the social media networks to run background checks on everyone that joins JSE. If you want the JSE community to know your Joomla story, add these details to your profile -- I do often look at these.

Everyone in JSE is equally important and everyone must abide by the same rules and etiquettes. Someone with 1 rep point will be treated the same as someone with 1M rep points. A moderator can be banned as fast as a non-moderator. We have no deities here. If anyone can be measured here, it is by the quality and volume of their contributions. If you are a Joomla SME (Subject Matter Expert), then you won't need to tell anyone -- they will be instantly aware of the depth of your knowledge based on the quality of your posts.