I’ve changed my mind arguing online, and so have plenty of others I know.
Rhetorical Use Of “[citation needed]” Considered Harmful. (By me.)
Given that your response refers to evidence that is more than sufficient to flat out invalidate the excessively general claim in question a citation wouldn’t even help, never mind ‘be necessary’ - it’d just make the source cited look bad too.
One of many preferred alternatives to “[citation needed]” in such cases is “No, that’s bullshit!”
(I like citations. I like asking for citations. I sometimes accept demands for citations to be appropriate. I would like citation requests to be statements that make it likely for citations to be provided when they are useful. This makes usages as a rhetorical device my enemy.)
Rhetorical Use Of “[citation needed]” Considered Harmful. (By me.)
Given that your response refers to evidence that is more than sufficient to flat out invalidate the excessively general claim in question a citation wouldn’t even help, never mind ‘be necessary’ - it’d just make the source cited look bad too.
One of many preferred alternatives to “[citation needed]” in such cases is “No, that’s bullshit!”
(I like citations. I like asking for citations. I sometimes accept demands for citations to be appropriate. I would like citation requests to be statements that make it likely for citations to be provided when they are useful. This makes usages as a rhetorical device my enemy.)