&gt; &#x27;Did you do (basic research)&#x27; is an impolite way to suggest someone did not.<p>I ask basic questions because I <i>often</i> have conversation partners who have <i>not</i> done their basic research. In the past, I&#x27;ve wasted a <i>lot</i> of time having mid-to-advanced level discussions about topics with people who -as it turns out- didn&#x27;t have even the most rudimentary grasp of the fundamentals of the topic. I ask brief clarifying questions of this sort out of respect for the busy schedules of myself and my conversation partners.<p>More than that, I&#x27;ve found that presuming to know something about other people often leads to hurt feelings and wildly incorrect assumptions. :)<p>From the start, I&#x27;ve been behaving in <i>exactly</i> the way you claim that you want me to behave. I even explained -at length- the reasoning behind my first and second comments and my conversational MO.<p>After your reply to my first comment, you&#x27;ve failed to meaningfully engage in any further discussion, citing my failure to behave in the way that you want me to behave as the reason for your non-participation.<p>We&#x27;re getting <i>really</i> far afield here, but do you make it a policy to apologise to people (who aren&#x27;t paying you) who continue to fail to understand something long after you&#x27;ve made that thing clear to <i>everyone</i> else in the room?