I think what you’re missing here is public perception. What you want to do and what the public perceives you doing are two different things.

You’re dealing with a field that polarizes people like few scientific topics. If you were a UFO blog and posted commentary-less YouTube vids of people tossing pie plates across their back yards, you’d be subject to the same criticism I offered here.

The question isn’t your intent. The question is, if you care about the field, how can you also engage in the same kind of behavior that makes studying the field so very difficult?

I am not saying, never post goofy fakes. Please do! I love a good hoax. You’ll notice 90% of my comments here are critiquing the hoxers, usually upset they didn’t do a better job. However, call it what it is. A vacuum of commentary is a commentary. You elevate the material to the same level as other, serious material that deserves a solid analysis. In doing so, you do what the skeptics do, which is consider the hoaxes equal with the rest of the evidence. It’s all one big pile of nonsense to them, and posting incredibly silly things without any indication that it’s intended to be so simply reaffirms their stance.

In short: you harm the study of the field itself.

One last thing before I finish blowing hot air all over this Intraweb thingy: my other point of contention is in how these items are presented. Based on the intro and titles, considering that is the info that goes out on the RSS feed, it reeks of ‘hey, come visit my site and see bigfoot!’ I know you don’t intend that, but almost every one of these you’ve posted is one step shy of The Thing out in Arizona. Tongue might be firmly in cheek, but one can’t necessarily detect that from a title and summary like the ones you’ve attached to the videos in question.

Just food for thought. Not angry, not blustery, don’t hate you, don’t think you suck, don’t think Loren made any fraudulent videos of prehistoric bird lizards…just the opinion of someone who -likes- you guys and what you do here, and wants the best for ya.

Now if you’ll excuse me, my friend has rented a hovercraft so I’m needed out on the moors in my fur coat. You’ll see it on YouTube tomorrow.

Slithering patterns
Entwine unsuspecting prey
Impossibly large

Felids from nowhere
Prowl the moors, then disappear
Shadows in the shrubs

Four cryptic haikus
Mystic prose for those who know
We all seek answers

This website forum surely MUST be a healthy sign to ‘outsiders’ that many of us who are interested in cryptozoology, aren’t the raving obsessives, or ranting non-believers, who the media all too often, for obvious reasons, choose to feature in their documentaries… at least here in the UK.

We can, and most often do, without hesitation, ’shout wolf’ whenever we suspect a fraud. We DON’T try to sweep obviously nonsensical claims under the carpet, in the belief that they will damage a ’cause’.

and here’s a thought:

Isn’t a badly put argument AGAINST the existence of (e.g. Nessie), ‘better’ for the science / art / religion (!) of Cryptozoology, than an ill-founded and unsubstantiated assertion in favour?

That’s my thoughts on the matter anyway! Keep it up guys. This site just keeps getting better.

Rob

Like a newspaper or magazine though, if Cryptomundo didn’t include quite a lot of ‘pulp’, there just wouldn’t be enough material to keep it going on a daily basis… which is absolutely essential to ensure that readers keep coming back.

Maintaining the balance right between ’serious’ and ‘non-serious’ content is a very difficult one, as the site owners will be well aware.

From time to time, I do wonder if the ‘non-serious’ does overbalance the ’serious’ – ie. perhaps there is very slightly too much ‘padding’?

Whatever, it’s a great website, if only for the appreciable level of journalise that goes on behind the scenes – which may, with respect, go overlooked by many who have never been in the profession.

Regards,

Vaughan

But I’ve gotten it the whole way. I know just how it works. And it wouldn’t work if it worked differently.

I’ve winced a few times. But I’ve kept ‘em to myself.

Boy you better have a sense of humor in this field.

I was going to suggest a crypto prose competition but I think fuzzy has already won!