Being a jerk is definitely not nice behavior. Most pedantic people are prone to escalation - they'll misinterpret what you say, assume ill intent, and fire back insults in your direction. This kind of stuff is simply not tolerated. On a more nuanced level, if they're baiting you or even just trying to prove their point and ignore yours, there's a level of bad faith going on. If they truly wanted to have a conversation or understand your viewpoint, it's usually very clear.

Of course, this can get tricky when discussing real world issues with real world consequences but even then, think to a measured debate or discussion on a tricky subject and how the people involved treat each other- humanity and respect is easy to recognize. Think of the nicest person you know, and how they'd talk about the same subject. We can't hold everyone to that standard, but we can try to hold ourselves to that standard and disengage when we find ourselves failing it.

Be sure to report any and everything you see that gives you pause which hasn't been actioned or where a moderator hasn't stepped in. The more eyes we can get on a conversation the better we can tune into whether it's how we're personally viewing it versus how others do.

That behavior is often called sealioning and is a very well-worn tool in the cryptofacist's toolbox. See also The Card Says Moops.

Feel free to report anything you might find questionable or in bad faith. We keep our rules simple and very broad to avoid this exact pedantry and give mods more leeway to interpret situations as needed. If something is riding the line and is reported we may or may not remove it, but we WILL read into it and make a judgement call. Most likely someone would step in and try to steer the discussion into a more productive line.

In that case, why is it not enough to just ignore and avoid them?