Well, if you're looking for my opinion, I don't think they're trolling. But I do think both of you were (intentionally or unintentionally) goading each other from a disagreement to an argument with your rhetoric (eg, where you said, "let's assume that's a reasonable source", or when they said "you obviously sourced this it just didn't match your point so you discarded it" - that brings up the temperature of the conversation).
Look up the definition of a paw. I think you have a sort of mixed up definition of what it is. Possibly a different definition used among your "bat expert" friends.
And I quote (again):
Paw: the foot of a quadruped (such as a lion or dog) that has claws
broadly : the foot of an animal
Both the broad and technical definition of paw fits what the bat has. Bats have paws.
The thing you are referring to is likely are these soft pads that are often on the paws, sometimes called paw pads.