I think i figured it out...
The reason my post (and the parent!) were marked redundant even though nobody had posted anything like it at all before is because some stupid moderation-demigods were perusing the sea of comments with the "newest first" option enabled, but they thought, since they were ID10TS, that our posts were unoriginal. Seriously, sometimes I want the names of the people who mod me down so I can present formal evidence of their own stupidity.
I'm feeling bitter... grrr.