Stupidity about the 'plot-hole' goof

I think I submitted the goof in question, and if IMDb were to eliminate all the stupid or ungrammatical thinking on these boards there'd be about 14 posts left, but as to your points:

1. I don't recall now whether Dolan said 24-hour "watch" or "guard", but that's a distinction without a difference. It's clear that the palm tree is supposed to be watched and guarded -- watched over, if you like -- so that no one touches it. It does not necessarily mean that safeguarding the palm is the duty of the regular "watch" officer, and there's nothing stated in the movie to assume that this is what was meant. Plainly (and this is also clear from the play), the idea is that the palm tree was being guarded separately, and continually, apart from whoever was the OD or had the watch. The Captain's paranoia about the palm, and his extreme measures to protect it, are also consistent with his setting up a special guard.

2. There is no indication whatsoever that Dolan was using hyperbole. Quite the opposite, it's clear he was matter-of-factly reporting the literal truth.

3. It's more than "pretty obvious" that the whole crew detests the palm tree: it's one of the central points of the plot. So you're correct, it's probable that the person watching/guarding the palm would have let anyone throw it overboard and just risked the Captain's wrath with a bunch of phony excuses. But all this is beside the point: the fact is, there's no one anywhere near the palm, or no one on watch who comes running over, when Pulver throws it overboard. The goof says only that no guard is visible; whether a guard would have just let someone toss the palm overboard is completely irrelevant. In fact, your point concedes the notion that a guard was supposed to be there.

4. The fact that Pulver marches right into the Captain's cabin to tell him what he'd done is also utterly irrelevant. Again, the goof merely points out -- correctly -- that the supposed 24-hour guard (or watch) is nowhere in sight. Right or wrong, the goof has nothing to do with Pulver's actions after throwing the palm into the ocean. Therefore, nothing is rendered "moot". This point is senseless as well as irrelevant.

Just because you don't agree with something doesn't mean it's the product of "stupid thinking". That three of your four points are either unfounded by any fact or are totally beside the point may not be the product of "stupid thinking" (I try not to make mindless insults), but they're hardly examples of sharp, observant or insightful thought.