Polite form of "red herring" or a word or phrase meaning unintentional distraction

Question

In another life I posted a comment calling someone's answer a "red herring" because I felt that it was distracting from the true problem:

D3 is a red herring here. Your solution works because you removed [some html tags]. If we [add those back in to your D3 solution], the bug reappears.

But something didn't sit right after I wrote that... Indeed, Google says the definition of "red herring" is:

something, especially a clue, that is or is intended to be misleading or distracting.

(emphasis on "intended" is mine).

So basically I think that using "red herring" here is accusing the solution's author of malice. And so what was bothering me was that my comment was possibly (TBD) rude, but I was not trying to be rude.

OK, so what is my question then... I guess 2 questions:

1. Is Google's definition (shown above) for red herring correct?
2. Is there a more polite version of red herring, or an expression that might convey mere unintentional harm, and not malice nor even intention? Like a word or phrase meaning unintentional distraction?

Looking at existing research on this popular topic, I found unintentionally led up the garden path. OK, that's good -- he wasn't trying to be harmful, just needs some help with navigational aids. Is there something like that, but maybe fewer syllables?

Answer 1

Other answers have tackled your explicit questions, but your sample sentence suggests to me that you want to capture a different aspect than deceit or relevance.

The answer you disagreed with wasn’t irrelevant or wrong on its face — you admit that it solves the issue — I understand your problem with it is that it obscures or masks what you identify as the true root cause

Dictionary.com defines both as conceals

I wouldn’t expect malice to be implied or understood by this word choice, rather simple oversight or misunderstanding

Answer 2

distraction is defined by Google’s dictionary as:

a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. "the company found passenger travel a distraction from the main business of moving freight"

synonyms: diversion, interruption, disturbance, intrusion, interference, obstruction, hindrance "he called these stories a distraction from the real issues"

Becoming distracted by a side issue is sometimes referred to as going down the garden path—or even going down the rabbit hole. It has no implication of intent, of course.

A preliminary announcement of securities to be offered is called a red herring prospectus and is printed with a red stripe, as if to say “watch out, this may be misleading.”

Answer 3

I would use a "non-issue" . This Oxford Dictionary defines it as:

A topic of little or no importance.

‘I believe the topic is a non-issue’

Answer 4

The Google definition is not the whole story. The Oxford online dictionary is quite careful.

A dried smoked herring, which is turned red by the smoke.

2A clue or piece of information which is or is intended to be misleading or distracting.

‘the book is fast-paced, exciting, and full of red herrings’ ‘the food-supply issue is largely a red herring in this discussion’

It originally meant just a "false lead" with no connotations of intent.

You see the "is or is not intended to be misleading. Calling a particular argument or alleged piece of evidence a red herring need not be understood to constitute an insulting accusation of an intention to deceive. Red herrings can be used to deceive just as other types of fallacious reasoning can be used to deceived. But they can equally be mistakes of argument or reasoning.

Although the expression is not insulting in the sense you are concerned about, its use is quite blunt. You could, as has been suggested, used some alternative word, like irrelevant. But that may not help. People can accept be told they are wrong, or have their facts questioned. But many people resent the idea that there is something wrong with their reasoning. But perhaps that is their problem, not yours!

Answer 5

red herring OED list 2 senses:

figurative and in figurative contexts. A clue or piece of information which is or is intended to be misleading, OR [ the polite ] is a distraction from the real question.

As in:

2001 J. Le Fanu They don't know what's Wrong The truth is then overlooked, as the doctor gets sidetracked by the red herring of a misleading diagnosis.

If you desire to shy away from the use of red herring, said word could be: a diversion aka a digression into irrelevant details. My sense of red herring in AmE has been the distraction variety, a coincidental event.