[bediger]

This article contains a good observation: he wraps his key idea in layers of link-bait and nerd-traps, shallow but emotionally charged ideas that side-track all but the strongest minds.

Hey, this idea is my Intellectual Property! I invented it to keep the morons at bay during Usenet's Eternal September, beginning with AOL, Prodigy and CompuServe's addition to Usenet in 1993. I always tried to put "lightning rod" prose into any Usenet article to divert the idiots into responding with idiocy. Only people with some knowledge can pass up a "lightning rod" and deal with the real issues.

[pavelludiq]

In many of his usenet articles Eric Naggum admits to putting traps for 'stupid people' in his posts. Anyone who's read any amount of Naggum rants knows this had interesting results. For instance, people would 'suggest' he use more polite language, and in response would get flamed.

[technomancy]

It's as old as Plato's Republic; it's hilarious how people (starting with Socrates's fictional debate partners) get sidetracked into "no, if the city were like that you would need [...] for it to work" while forgetting the fact that it's just a metaphor for exploring justice.