We can't fact-check and repeat the experiments of everything we read, so much of what we take from a source depends on the extent we trust that source.

Just apply it here to HZ: what Gary says about heatshields, what RL says about lasers, what Nick says about geology, and what you, Tom, say about private space efforts, all weigh much more in my mind than a contrary posting by some bozo I know nothing about. The factors you've listed all go to weighing the credibility of the source.

The converse is also true: having checked Benny Peiser's work, I now know not to trust anything he says about global warming.

The AGW denialists being outside of the scientific consensus, and making no effort to prove their points rigorously, such as through peer-review, makes them highly suspect.