Should claims made in comments be supported by a reference?

Question

I've seen a wide range of claims made in comments, some reasonable enough, some outrageous.

Should any claim made in a comment be supported by a reference?

Examples:

• If heard the claim that girls will, when by themselves, perform particularly better in math and science classes.
• The toothpaste as I understand it contains an abbrasive for example that litterally scours your teeth, making them whiter but destroying the enamel in the process. After a while of course your teeth will have lost all protection and become weak and start rotting.

I thought the purpose of a skeptics site is to provide an alternative to all the unreferenced comments of the world. So I find this counterproductive to the aim of the site.

Should these be flagged or just ignored?

Answer 1

If you see a comment that makes a claim you'd like to see backed up by evidence, ask the author to provide a reference. Or better even, use this form and ask the whole community to fact-check the claim! ;)

Those comments, however, are not claims per se but people recalling what they heard. The comment section is the appropriate place for this type of input. The users were really clear that the information was unreliable in both cases (which is why they didn't write an answer but a comment).