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Comment by cjkaminski | Hacker News Reader

How so? Defend your position.

(edit: I genuinely don't understand how your replies are anything other than ad hominem attacks. Your responses are about as effective as a toddler asking "why?" over and over and over again. Either deliver a substantive counter argument or stop replying.)

(edit 2: I assume you are the one who downvoted this reply. That only adds to the factual evidence that you are struggling to defend your position via legitimate means. This isn't a personal attack. I hoped you would engage in legitimate discourse. Please do better in the future.)

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Ad hominem would be if the GP was making a personal attack on you. Saying a question is "silly" is not that.

Downvoting can also mean that the downvoter doesn't think it's worth the time to engage with prose. It's a bit arrogant to assume that a downvote means someone can't come up with a cogent argument against you; the fact that you make that assumption points even more strongly at the idea that it's not worth arguing with you.

Fair points.

I would say that classifying an argument as "silly" without any supporting evidence is borderline ad hominem because it doesn't make a substantive critique of the assertion, and instead colors the character of the opposition. But that shouldn't take away from your position.

As for your suggestion that I am being arrogant, I can see where you're coming from but I also feel as though I'm within the bounds of fairness to push for a reasoned response (instead of an emotional appeal).

All that said, thanks for replying in a way that advances the discourse. Much appreciated.

You assume incorrectly. I flagged your comment for breaking site guidelines, not downvoted. Perhaps you're unfamiliar with how the site works but it's not possible to downvote a reply to one's own comment. The button isn't there.

Okay, how did I break the guidelines per your assessment? I'm genuinely curious.

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