That is what i said, I said, "x is wrong because x is y", "x" being the individual and "y" being a trait that has nothing to do with the conversation. But like I said, I don't care for the usage of "ad hom" because it is rarely used properly, and on the internet people think an insult is an adhom, it's not. If I say "x is wrong about y because they are an idiot" that is ad hom, if I say "x is wrong about y, therefore they are an idiot" that is not an adhom. Something most fail to understand.
But I actually don't care for ad hom at all because people use it to suggest that there is no relevance to the discussion at hand, barring the nature of rhetoric in general, which is intended to convince, if an "ad hom" has relevance, I don't see why that is a problem in an informal environment, my entire point is to draw attention to that factor to dissuade others from believing you.
Put simply, this opinion covers my opinion on the matter, it's why I don't care for its usage, not that it was even used in my initial reply considering an argument was not provided in my initial reply:
www.humanities.mcmaster.ca
(Hyperlinked article)
Although the entire thing is worth reading.