It's not an appeal to authority if THOSE people ARE the factual authority!
They are no more an authority than any other qualified person. Government employees are not our superiors, they are servants of the people.
"It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority." -- Benjamin Franklin
Don't they teach civics in school any more?
The problem with ESO, is that it uses every Tom Dick and Harry to discuss topics that are outside their area of expertise.
Your glib "Tom, Dick and Harry" comment demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge of who these experts really are. The professionals in ESO speak to issues that are within their areas of their expertise.
For instance, Lynn Margulis Ph.D, was a scientist and University professor who discovered that some life forms come into being by two life forms joining together. This was a major discovery as it confirmed an exception to Darwin's theory of evolution. She talks about the scientific method and how the NIST reports are not science.
Roland Angle is a civil engineer with over 40 years of experience. He designed and tested Minute Man missile silos. He was a Green Barret, trained in the use of demolitions and he "blew a lot of things up". He would analyze structures, place explosives and then analyze the results. He spoke about his areas of expertise.
Kamal Obeid is a structural engineer with a masters degree and 30 years of experience. He says that WTC 7 is a classic case of controlled demolition.
Steven Dusterwald is a structural engineer with 37 years of experience. He says that the connections in WTC 7 could not fail at the rate they did without explosives.
There are dozens of experts in ESO that cover all aspects of the destruction of the three towers on 9/11.