"Citation needed" is not a nice quip. You're responding to a forum comment, not reviewing a paper.
It's fine to be dubious of a claim, and it's fine to ask politely for sources or rationales. Just be nice.
It's fine to be dubious of a claim, and it's fine to ask politely for sources or rationales. Just be nice.
I was not aware that "citation needed" is considered impolite. It is something I use at work a lot when interacting with colleagues. My apologies, I'll refrain from that in future.
Rather than saying the equivalent to "I think this cannot be true", a request for citation merely means "I am interested in this claim and would like to know the source" (even if phrased more tersely). The content is more indicative of the intent than the phrasing, and requesting a citation is not an accusation at all, it is a request for a source for further research.
Citation needed.