"ad hominem attacks."
- PERSON ONE: Here's my point.
- PERSON TWO: You're an asshole.
- PERSON ONE: Lay off the ad hominem attacks.
An Ad Hominem argument requires that you claim that a person's argument is invalid because of who they are, not because of the argument. It has nothing to do with insulting someone. It could conceivably be complimentary.
- PERSON ONE: I think great people should get candy.
- PERSON TWO: You're only saying that because you're so great.
That's an ad hominem