To be honest I have not used the personal attack hook that much. Not because I didn’t feel like it, but because I think it’s a slippery style of linkbait and one which can backfire easily, as we can see here with Marty and his shenanigans.
But hey, it got me to link. And if that was the point, then success. Of course there is a cost and that cost may not be instantly quantifiable. The cost must always be considered when indulging in controversial linkbait. Obviously for me it affects how I view the seomoz brand, calling what I do “outright fraud” is a little rich from a blog advocating sock puppet marketing.
I have learned, people do not need to like you or even agree with you to link to you. If you have an opinion there is always going to be someone with a different opinion. But, when you get personal as Marty as done here and I have done in the past, it transcends to a new level.
I am not moralising on the issue, people make their own decisions according to their own moral code and what they think Google will let them get away with.
Before you crank up the slagbait machine, do remember there are real people out there and that nuance and irony are sometimes difficult to communicate over a blog.