> "Good faith comments made among colleagues should not require sources" I think you misunderstand the purpose of the "source: XYZ" comment in this and many ot

> "Good faith comments made among colleagues should not require sources" I think you misunderstand the purpose of the "source: XYZ" comment in this and many other HN discussions. It's not meant to create an undeserved air of authority. It's meant to help contextualize the information being given. When I talk about math curriculum, I usually tell people I teach fourth grade math in an inner-city school. That helps people understand that I'm talking from that perspective, rather than the perspective of a parent or an administrator. It also helps people understand how closely my experience matches the specific situation being spoken of (same grade level? Same demographics?) and it suggests which lines of inquiry I'd be most helpful in addressing (ie, "what does it cost to purchase district-wide curriculum" is beyond my expertise, but "how do your students handle such-and-such concept" is a great question.) It doesn't prove I'm a world-class expert or that nobody can argue with me or otherwise unfairly imbue my comment with false authority. I think this is actually normal in cocktail party type conversations. "I heard this thing about [topic]." "Oh, I'm actually a [job] and here's some additional detail about [thing and topic] based on my experience."