was an obvious attempt at humour

One thing I’ve learned from my time here on Lemmy, never assume anything when you’re replying, be explicit, even bordering on legalese, when discussing with someone else here.

People and conflict bots will nitpick the fact of things not said and use it against you.

At the very least conclude your subtle joke comment with a /s, the universal signal for “please don’t yell at me, I was just joking around”.