> It's call ad hominem tu quoque.
> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ad-hominem-tu-quoque.html
>
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> SA s11131978 at gmail.com wrote:
>
> In my mind, pointing out a contradiction in what somebody says is a
> legitimate thing to do in a discussion and doesn't indicate
> insincerity or bad faith.
No - pointing out a contradiction in someone's arguments is not Ad Hominem Tu Quoque.
AHTQ is when you claim the other person's argument *is wrong because* they're contradicting something else they've said.
All I was doing in the exchange we're talking about was *asking you to explain* an apparent contradiction between two things you'd written on the same subject. You thought I was insulting you or something. For the record, at the time, I wasn't thinking "heh, slam dunk, SA FTW!" On the contrary, I was assuming there was some rationale behind it that you would explain, some reasoning that would show why it wasn't really such a contradiction after all, and then further discussion could be pursued (or not) from there.
Personally, I like it when someone points out a perceived contradiction in something I've said. I think it's kind of a fun exercise to re-run through my thinking and see if I can reconcile the two apparently contradictory thoughts. Your mileage may vary.
SA