If it’s not that hard to find a source, then it’s not that hard to provide a source. You’re not doing other people’s work for them by being kind enough to provide evidence for your assertions. They’re less likely to hear what you have to say if you just brush them off and say “it’s common sense” or “it’s easy to find just search it yourself.”
Counterpoint: your point is in no way credible without a source (in many cases, and only for things that would run contrary to current knowledge). So if you claim that Ivermectin cures Covid, your comment isn’t even worth making unless you cite a source.
In other words, a fleshed out comment of :
“Actually, blah-blah-blah for three paragraphs” carries exactly as much credibility as “No it isn’t” without any citation, so why bother writing it if you don’t source it?
I think there’s a difference between making a claim (then I’m with you – provide a source, goddamnit) and getting asked a question where it’s obvious the asker hasn’t even tried finding out shit on their own. In the latter I think the card is right. I’m not your proxy for google.
Counterpoint: A lot of people legitimately don’t know how to find out shit on their own and their learning style is rooted in having teachers and tutors help them along to understanding. Needing someone to teach them how to find out shit on their own might legitimately be part of the path that they need help with. If you genuinely don’t understand which sources are valuable or how to form the question into a search engine, doing it yourself may not be illuminating at all. Some people don’t grow from “reading the fucking manual” because it’s all too beyond their basic understanding for it to be valuable to them.
I think people take for granted that finding solutions on the internet is absolutely a learned skill.
If it’s not that hard to find a source, then it’s not that hard to provide a source. You’re not doing other people’s work for them by being kind enough to provide evidence for your assertions. They’re less likely to hear what you have to say if you just brush them off and say “it’s common sense” or “it’s easy to find just search it yourself.”
If someone asks nicely, I’ll give them a source. But if the request is just “source?” they can look it up themselves.
I wouldn’t trust strangers on the Internet to spoon feed me information, so the only time I ask for a source is if I’m unable to find one.
Shit, a large chunk of my knowledge was gained by searching for a source to prove people wrong.
Counterpoint: your point is in no way credible without a source (in many cases, and only for things that would run contrary to current knowledge). So if you claim that Ivermectin cures Covid, your comment isn’t even worth making unless you cite a source.
In other words, a fleshed out comment of : “Actually, blah-blah-blah for three paragraphs” carries exactly as much credibility as “No it isn’t” without any citation, so why bother writing it if you don’t source it?
You see, I’d have to care about others thinking I’m credible for that to matter.
Chiming into a discussion without caring if your point is considered is certainly a choice. Why comment at all, then?
I think there’s a difference between making a claim (then I’m with you – provide a source, goddamnit) and getting asked a question where it’s obvious the asker hasn’t even tried finding out shit on their own. In the latter I think the card is right. I’m not your proxy for google.
Counterpoint: A lot of people legitimately don’t know how to find out shit on their own and their learning style is rooted in having teachers and tutors help them along to understanding. Needing someone to teach them how to find out shit on their own might legitimately be part of the path that they need help with. If you genuinely don’t understand which sources are valuable or how to form the question into a search engine, doing it yourself may not be illuminating at all. Some people don’t grow from “reading the fucking manual” because it’s all too beyond their basic understanding for it to be valuable to them.
I think people take for granted that finding solutions on the internet is absolutely a learned skill.
Especially these days, when disinformation is freely accessible, and facts are behind paywalls.
I can find a million conflicting articles about what a study says, or I can pay out the nose for access to the actual study, for example.
Except, when you Google something, the best answers are (or at least used to be) most often Reddit comments provided by people who aren’t douchebags.
Does it need to be repeated over and over, though? The answer is there.
Then don’t bother answering