No...not quite so easy. Look at these cases:
1. Someone responds to a post and says that the OP is a jerk.
2. Someone responds to a post and says that the OP does not have the qualifications (experience, ratings, etc.) to make the statements he made.
3. Someone responds to a post with the claim that the OP manufactured a statistic or claimed a fact that wasn't true (e.g., that Politician "X" made such-and-such a statement).
4. Someone responds to a post by casting doubt on qualifications the OP claims to have (e.g., 1000 hours in a P-51, etc.).
The OP is likely to consider all four cases are "Personal Attacks." Most folks would agree that #1 would be out of line. But... two through four? If someone claims to be type-rated in a Gulfstream, and poster who *is* notices a wide span of inaccuracies in the OP's pronouncements, are they NOT allowed to question the OP's qualifications?
Sure, a lot depends how it's done; how it's worded. But if you take the broad definition of "No Personal Attacks," we might as well assume that every participant is a retired F-16 pilot and an ATP and rated in the 707, 717, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, 787, and every model of Airbus, and a former world aerobatics champion besides.
Ron Wanttaja
who ain't none of these