Can we get back to serious threads and discussions now?

I'm all for it.

 

Same here. Once in a blue moon, okay Butterbean is fine.

The other thing I wish this forum can fix is the fake news posted, usually by the same suspects. Please back up you're stuff with a web link or two. This of course can greatly differ with opinions, which should be tolerated within reason.

 

Sure. I'm one of the main culprits, I think, and will be happy to stop.

I think the satire arms race started with the boxing historians in smoky bars stuff, and then took on a life of its own.

My Wlad vs London thread was serious, however.

EDIT: Part of the problem is that so many good, legitimate threads aren't getting responses. The joke threads attract more people and keep getting bumped, while the good ones languish in obscurity.

 

I think this is the main issue.

My Frank Bruno eating blueberries thread is at 3 pages, and my Boston Tom McMustache thread is at 5 pages. Meanwhile I've posted several with lost bareknuckle history, some of which haven't gotten a single reply, and at most will get replies from a couple people.

And what kind of threads does that encourage people to make? Especially considering that the former took 30seconds to make, when some of the others have been the result of hours of research

 

The simple, if slightly stupid, fix to this problem is to tie your research issue into a trendy thread topic.

"Dioxippus, Pankration champion of Greece" will probably not get many posts.

"Dioxippus would beat up Marciano" has much more favorable prospects.

 

TBH, I don't really care the threads aren't getting many replies. My focus in on the 1700's guys, and there's so little out there, that if they google them, my threads are pretty easy to find, so the info is out there.

But if people don't want the recent posts all to be jokes in stupid threads, then they need to start engaging with serious ones more

 

Yes, good idea. I am almost finished with my Doctoral Thesis on Classical Boxing at MIT and I really don't want to
be sidetracked on less serious threads. My subject is "Shadow Boxing in the late 19th Century among Pugilists
in the British Empire".

 

True, but you can more widely disseminate your information if you mix it with a spoonful of (Bert) sugar.