NATO is a mutual defense organization, not a member accountability organization. There's nothing in the rules about member states not attacking non-member states.
But why would you tell me to read an entire book when all I want is one tidbit of information. One or two words would have been enough, but instead they boasted that they know a lot about the topic and basically said "It's not my job to share information with you."
While you're not wrong, it also would have taken them the same amount of time and effort to make a passing suggestion instead of saying "lol no, look it up yourself."
So yes, it is your own responsibility to educate yourself, but asking the more educated is one way that we do this. And the more educated answering "do your own research" is kind of a dick move.
You can mix wood glue with sawdust and pack it in the cracks