By the same token, I can complain about a group, and as long as I don't claim that my complaints magically fixed the problem, that's fine. That's not at all ho

By the same token, I can complain about a group, and as long as I don't claim that my complaints magically fixed the problem, that's fine. That's not at all how people use it colloquially. Nobody is claiming that bumper stickers, Priuses, statements of "thoughts and prayers," or changing one's Facebook profile picture magically fix any problem. And yet those are the exact things that get labeled virtue-signalling. In this thread alone, jaredhansen mentions "ideally via cheap signals like signs and bumper stickers" - though admittedly doesn't say virtue signals. x220's definition is also at odds with yours. https://hn.algolia.com/?query=virtue-signalling https://hn.algolia.com/?query=virtue-signalling is rife with examples. The incessant cries of virtue-signalling on the web absolutely do not require someone claiming that they've "magically fixed" any problem, and are almost entirely gate-keeping, goalpost-moving, ad hominem attacks, simple partisanship, and general lazy argumentation.