This is totally my fault as I wasn't responding to what anon said directly. I meant the frame of the post in total, using anon's reply to continue my earlier comment.
The point of my comment was: if core is rotten, exploring relatively personal details/beliefs about Zhao, litigating/speculating about her character to the extent they did, was below the belt.
I don't have an opinion on cold vs hot email. I can see how that might point to favoritism or not, and is relevant, but I don't have counterfactuals so I don't have anything to say about that.
This is totally my fault as I wasn't responding to what anon said directly. I meant the frame of the post in total, using anon's reply to continue my earlier comment.
The point of my comment was: if core is rotten, exploring relatively personal details/beliefs about Zhao, litigating/speculating about her character to the extent they did, was below the belt.
I don't have an opinion on cold vs hot email. I can see how that might point to favoritism or not, and is relevant, but I don't have counterfactuals so I don't have anything to say about that.