Sometimes if a joke doesn't land, it's because the joke wasn't funny. (Also, yes, a lot of folks here are autistic, maybe cool it with the veiled insults.)
There's nothing veiled or an insult: what I mentioned is a real factor in why people would read that statement and jump to demanding proof.
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If I told a room full of plumbers that Sharkbites are actually sponsored by big Water trying to encourage water wastage, it definitely might not land... but none of them are going to demand a citation!
I think a better rule of thumb is that one shouldn't use tone indicators at all. If you are needing them, then chances are that what you are going to post is not valuable/funny.
(or maybe you did make stupid comments that were valuable and funny in 2005, I wouldn't know)