The distinction between the two concepts is real. The word choice... I don't know. I haven't heard of the blog post. I'm ESL speaker, and yet when 'PaulRobinson made the distinction, I immediately knew what they're talking about, and I even though "nice" vs. "kind" is exactly the right word pair to use.
It is funny because I feel the difference, yet can't really explain it easily because my native language has just one word for both concepts.
Their etymology and original meanings are completely different. Their merging into synonyms is as daft to me as “literally” now meaning figuratively or metaphorically.