The first thing the grandparent says is that Dave is a curmudgeon. It's absolutely an ad-hominem, more specifically it is the poisoning the well[1] variety. E

The first thing the grandparent says is that Dave is a curmudgeon. It's absolutely an ad-hominem, more specifically it is the poisoning the well[1] variety. Everything read after the opening sentence is tainted with the idea that Dave's actions are that of a curmudgeon. Most ad-hominem's are accidental; they're so prevalent in internet discussions that it's difficult not to engage in it, so I'm sure the grandparent meant no harm. He had a genuinely good point, but I agree that it's somewhat ruined by the well poisoning. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_the_well http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_the_well