LIVING UP TO ACADEMIC STANDARDS

[David]

Originally Posted by mross

I would not worry too much about academic standards. Just look at the number of mislabeled weapons in museums. The best standard I have seen is Oakeshott, and he was more learned collector than academic. We do have a few academics on this site that know their stuff, but I would trust a old time collector before most academics.

ditto...again...
What i like to see in discussions on these forums is intelligent argument that is backed up with logic and resources. You do not need a PhD to do this, just a logical and intelligent approach.
I cannot speak for the owner of this site, but i am fairly certain that Lee has no desire to extent this site into the territory of accredited academia. I do not discourage an academic approach, but frankly gentleman, you can leave your certifications and degrees at the door as far as i'm concerned. As Mross points out, i have seen more mislabeled ethnographic weapons in major museums than i can shake a keris at and don't think all their academic degrees make curators any more knowledgeable than a truly engaged longtime collector with a real love of the weapons he/she collects.