I mostly agree with you, especially about those "weak affirmatives" being plainly bad, and I personally disregard anything in that "plausible deniability" categ

I mostly agree with you, especially about those "weak affirmatives" being plainly bad, and I personally disregard anything in that "plausible deniability" category as what it is. Still, I don't think calling the post a debunking effort is the core of the comment, but the CV analysis. Especially the part where the commenter considers the post credible: "[...] I tend to find her post credible here on general this-looks-like-a-fellow-academic grounds." The commenter then brings his research to the institution, and make an affirmation on a possible bias. Possible being the key word, what makes the whole period kind of useless. Yes, we can't correct it since it is not false (nor true), but we also don't have to correct it, as it holds no weight. In the end, I'd sum the comment up as, "I consider the post credible as an academic, but won't be surprised if proven wrong.", and I would definitely not call this ad hominem. Especially given the commenter has not positioned themselves for or against the content, but as a passive reader.