[dsfyu404ed]

It really depends on context.

On HN I trust someone who's inviting nit-picking by saying "this is SOP, google it your damn self" a lot more than I trust someone citing their sources because there are a fair number prolific commenters who form an opinion and then back it up with cherry picked links as a debate tactic (moves the debate from one of their opinion to one of source credibility).

In synchronous communication or another context where I can't reasonably "just google it" the suggestion to do one's own research is a lot more suspect.

[ifyoubuildit]

> On HN I trust someone who's inviting nit-picking by saying "this is SOP, google it your damn self" a lot more than I trust someone citing their sources [...]

There's the old "trust but verify" saying that's relevant here. The person that cited their sources at least did some of that work for you, whereas the other person might have based their claim on random shit they overheard on the subway.

I don't understand this idea that showing less of your work is somehow more convincing.