Probably different people were applauding it then from the people that call this childish now? HN is not an singular entity, an overmind made of people who think exactly the same.
True, but there were very few people calling it childish then (I don't remember any then) whereas in this thread there's a sizable minority that calls it childish.
Unfortunately, I think we'll find HN is just about as much hive-mind as Reddit...