Come on, there's no point in going out with or without a bang here.
I agree with everything you say in your opening post, asking questions shouldn't be viewed as bickering and it's perfectly reasonable to ask for references. Personally, I try to remember to add a disclaimer of sorts when I'm less than sure and I hope people will take the hint and not accept what I say without thinking and acknowledge that I'm aware that I haven't provided a credible source. Neither does knowledge always come in a nice package, but in my experience it doesn't hurt to deliver it with a smile. I'm not saying anybody should be sucking up to the people they are trying to inform, but being arrogant (which I'm definitely
not accusing anybody of here), even when it's justified, is always counterproductive.
When has knowledge ever been appreciated? A sad fact is that people are more concerned with how a message is delivered, than with its significance to the discussion. It has the status of a party trick for most people and is right up there with doing a crappy Christopher Walken impression. They're not going to change anytime soon either, so instead of banging your head against the wall, you might as well adapt.
