Can data supporting an on-topic assertion be off-topic?

[Boojatta]

Poll question: Can data supporting an on-topic assertion be off-topic?

Imagine that an assertion is posted and that nobody denies that it is relevant to the forum in which it is posted. Some data supports the assertion. However, that data is actually off-topic, regardless of the fact that the data does support the assertion.

For example:

A person claims that, in America, women earn more than men in forty occupations. Suppose that some people request evidence to back up that claim.

The person who made the claim might say, "I can provide information about women's earnings in those forty occupations. However, this is the Women's Rights forum, so information about men's earnings in those forty occupations is off-topic. You will simply have to accept that I have the data and that women earn more than men in those forty occupations."

[Iggo]

1. Did this actually happen?

What I'm asking is, by "...might say..." do you mean "...did say..."?

And is a claim of access ("I can provide...") the same as a promise to deliver ("I shall provide...")?

In either case, without the evidence to back up the claim, you are free to discount it.

[Boojatta]

2. The poll question is general.

I invented the example. That doesn't prove that the example never actually occurred, but it would be a coincidence if that particular example described a real discussion.

[Boojatta]

3. Kick to elicit more votes, comments, and questions.

[Boojatta]

4. Kick to gather informed votes and informative comments.

[ismnotwasm]

5. If you need a men's right forum, start one

That being said, I don't see how it's "off topic" necessarily. I would probably think it's more of a logic failure given the general statistics on income. You could, however, start an interesting discussion on actual income vs. relative income between genders.

[Boojatta]

6. Kick

[Boojatta]

7. Kick