# An Unrelated Metric Beside an Unaddressed Allegation Is Diversion ## Claim When a party responds to a specific allegation by citing an unrelated positive metric instead of addressing its content, treat the metric as diversion rather than as rebuttal. <!-- atomicity: 1 idea ✓ --> ## Scope & conditions - The test is relevance, not truth: the metric is usually accurate, which is what makes the move effective. - Requires the allegation to have been specific — a vague charge fairly invites a general response. - Names a rhetorical move, not a state of mind; a sincere responder can reach for a metric under pressure. - The correction is to restate the allegation and ask what the metric has to do with it, which usually ends the exchange one way or the other. ## Evidence From Mullenweg's post responding to criticism, where an unrelated growth figure is offered against a specific allegation. ## Links - [[An Objection That Survives Its Own Removal Was Never the Objection]] — the opposite move, made by critics rather than by the party criticized - [[A Ceiling Score Reported by the Scored Party Measures Test Fit]] — the same problem with a self-reported number, here used as a shield rather than as proof - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Evidence & Claims Literacy MOC]] — the claims-literacy thread on responses that change the subject.