Is Sword Forum International Dead?

by Caleb
(Vancouver)

QUESTION: I'm just curious, do people still go/post there? I haven't for years...and I was going to make a new account, but the security checks have gone up & it really annoyed me so i didn't. Where to people go (besides here) to get educated nowadays?

Caleb

ANSWER: Hi Caleb,

SFI has been pretty quiet for the last 6-12 months, which is pretty unfortunate... I used to post there from time to time but don't these days - I still drop by every week or so just to see what, if anything, is being discussed, but it really has become a shadow of its former self...

Even though I have had quite a few run ins with some of the people there, and no doubt have a few people who really don't like what I am doing here - it is very sad to see it in such a sorry state...

I guess that apart from SBG, people either visit Bladeforum and Bugei. Would be nice to see SFI back to its glory days, but I am not sure how or if it is going to happen...

Cheers,

- Paul

Comments for Is Sword Forum International Dead?

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SFI Not Likely to Recover: Dying Forum
by: Anonymous

SFI has gone downhill since Scott Rodell and Philip Tom were kicked out. Some new moderators were brought into the "MEIA" forum after that but they have not done anything there to help at all, so whoever made that decision to take them in really screwed up. I heard some moderators are no longer there because of the idiocy and sabotage of the people who run SFI behind the scenes. The guy kind of running the MEIA forum is about the only thing going for SFI and he doesn't do much there but post about his publications that are in non-English publications so that doesn't help much. Even the articles on the front page have not changed. Why they don't get him or someone more qualified to write something for that space is telling of the lack of interest in it. It doesn't take a genius to see that the place is falling apart.

bad forum place
by: Anonymous

hello, you shouldnt feel sorry, the sword forum int. is getting what it deserve, that is my experience.people not do not like being told what do to by people in charge who shouldnt be in charge.the chinese forum is dead.good people have left, it all is poor place.

rotten from its inside
by: Anonymous

the problem is inside out. adrian ko listens to all the wrong people and makes stupid choices. he listens to his pyros which is what he calls the sword makers there. he is more like a stupid kid than a responsible adult. angus trim runs the show on the moderator forum. everyone is afraid to say anything there or is a friend of his. from what i hear he controls adrian ko. adrian ko let in some academics as moderators and they have never done anything to help that place. the other comments here are right, good moderators were lost not just the men from the chinese forum. idiots and pundits are in charge and there is no responsibility from the moderators to fix it. about the guy from the meia forum yeah, he only writes things that are about him and his work and thats fine and fine but, it looks like he only cares about that, it looks like hes using that forum to boost himself, to hell with the forum. sword forum sucks anymore and other forums are better than it now. some things are so rotten that they will rot no matter how much is still good.

junk place
by: Anonymous

defintiely should not see sfi get back to its glory days, its a crap place, nothing worth talking about when crap run the show. nothing good about it.

its dead buddy
by: Anonymous

yep its dead. look at it now. very few forums are really working anymore. the front page with those articles hasnt been updated for years. losers are moderators but pretend to be the gatekeepers of the industry. theyre all pathetic losers. trash bins have better content. some moderators dont even contribute anymore they just use the forums to advertise their crap. that place is as alive as adrian kos angelic.org scary ass website.

Dude that place sucks!
by: Jerry Farret

Its over for Sword forum. Alot of people have been tired of that place for a long time. And it shows just how much it sucks. the Moderators don't do anything anymore. That guy Khorasani is the only one who does interesting stuff (publishes books, did a dissertation blasting sword Forum), but he isnt doing anything at all anymore. Angus Trim makes crap and sells it as treasure. Dead wood is more alive than that place! Yeah, I sound just like the people who posted here already but what can I say, something must be right if everyone is saying the same things.

adrian ko peaceful?
by: Anonymous

does anyone know about adrian ko being a hardcore christian? why is he running a website about swords and other weapons? i thought he was christian. i think there is something backwards about saying how great these killing things are and being religious.

SFI...Sad Kingdom
by: Markus 1812

If you are tired of the arrogance of SFI, you should check out Vikingsword.com. That's where Phillip Tom, Jean Binck and others hang out these days.

..and as far as sword collecting not being Christian? Come on, this is a flame, right??

I have just been treated horribly on SFI...
by: Anonymous

Nice to know I'm not alone, kind of. I am a blacksmith trying to sell my swords, so I go there, study the place, then join, I post just like *everyone* else, and behave like a nice guy, and then, I was attacked by a petty infantile individual, who had been there longer than I was, who obviously had no idea what he was talking about when it came to making swords, when he criticized mine. Anyway after defending myself against him, I contacted a moderator, telling the mod that he should get onto the user who was harassing me.... get this;
The moderator contacts me back, sort of half- making it out like it was my fault in some ways!
It couldn't have possibly been!... all I did was post a single post, trying to sell something, on the buying/selling forum then I was attacked by a critic, in a very petty, condescending manner. Man, I had no idea SFI would have this kind of behavior on it before I joined... looks like it's nothing different than so many other forums I've been to. I just wish I had known that before I joined. It didn't seem like it would be like that *at all* before I joined. It seems like it's an elitist gated community, where the only things that matter, are the things that mean nothing:
Post count, and how long you've been a member of the %^&*$%^ place...

Sword Forum = Attitude Forums
by: Anonymous

I joined SFI years ago and got the same Elitist/Gate Keeping garbage when asking very earnest questions. This is what happens when you treat your members like dirt ... you turn into dirt and blow away. Couldn't have happened to a nicer forum.

Pretending to be Academic
by: Anonymous

Sword forum is no better than the worst gun and knife forums out there let me tell you something I learned a couple years ago. the moderators are hypocrites on there own forum. a high ranking moderator who left because he was fed up with other moderators told me that they are all bs and power hungry and was disgusted with them all. from what you say this sounds true.and to the person about adrian ko being a christian yes he is crazy but thats who plays god there.

Bullies and BS
by: Anonymous

If you try to debate any subject, the resident "expert" will follow you around like a troll, posting against whatever you say anywhere else. Then when you complain, you get suspended.

Although some of the experts there are great sources of info, there is a lot of misinformation and falsehoods they simply do not have the courage to admit they are wrong about. People like Harvey Withers and Richard Dellar are to be avoided at all costs. Richard Dellar got it very wrong about French inspection marks and when confronted with the facts, did what he should do a lot more, he said nothing. Harvey Withers, well, hmmm, seems he makes quite a few mistakes about identifying swords, and has been selling a few repros / fakes of late.

But, it you challenge the experts on SFI, you will only get the yapping pack at your heels followed by suspension, so why bother?

PS Why does a forum need a legal counsel? What a joke; it shows just how dumb and pious they really are!

Elitist Jerks
by: Anonymous

good place to find deals on swords in the classifieds, however don't bother posting your opinions on any threads or some SFI eilitist will tear you apart.

Not really a friendly forum....

Sad Little King on a Sad Little Hill
by: Joe

SFI used to be great. It was full of helpful people and lively discussion. This hasn't been true for a long time though. Sadly the gestapo that run SFI drank too much of their own kool-ade and have run the place into the ground. The more you tighten your grip, Mark McMorrow, the more valuable participation will slip through your fingers. The place looks like a graveyard compared to 10 years ago. You can still learn about swords, but you better shut the f^ck up and learn your place (the bottom) while you are properly indoctrinated into the McMorrow Youth.

I know it holds itself out to be an academic forum but it's not, it's an interest forum which has the participation of some academics. That's not the same as an academic forum though. SFI, like all similar internet forums, is best suited to casual learning. If you want it to be academic, have an academy. Charge tuition. Produce scholarly works. Produce scholars. Confer degrees of academic attainment. SFI can do none of these.

And it shouldn't. The huge majority of those who would participate in an online sword forum are hobbyists. Sword collectors, martial arts practitioners, fencers, and re-enactors. I'm not saying there are no professionals, far from it. Online forums are a great place for lay people (hobbyists) to meet with sword makers, historians, and martial arts and fencing teachers. There will be ignorance, that's what you get when lay people are involved. There will be the same misconceptions about swords over and over again, it's a forum, not an archive. That highlights the value of open discussion and a welcoming environment.

SFI has lost this. It's not really a forum anymore. Its an archive. An archive full of ego and vitriol. If you are a sword hobbyist or scholar, don't go there. There are plenty of better sites with better communities. This one, Schola Gladiatoria, and My Armoury immediately come to mind. Let McMorrow be the sad little king of his sad little hill. If you are a vendor, I suppose you'll just have to grin and bear it, best of luck to you.

You reap what you sow
by: Mike

SFI is pretty much totally dead now. Mark McMorrow killed it by being such a colossal jerk. He clearly has some MAJOR psychological issues. It's actually really sad that someone could be so unstable as to sabotage his own forum, giving it such a terrible reputation that most people won't touch it with a ten-foot pole anymore.

Virtually all of the cool folks abandoned SFI because they got fed up with the atrocious tyrannical behavior of McMorrow and his sick little brownshirt "moderators". They are probably the most despicable, hateful people I've ever encountered on any forum in all of my life. Avoid these zealots at all costs.

Banned for Nothing
by: Gaufried

Yes, I despise SFI House of Pancakes, even more than MiAmore and Schola Gluttonis, and almost as much as ARMADA. I was banned by SFI "moderator" Angus Trim some years ago. He did so cravenly via spiteful private messages to me. Did not have the guts to do so publicly at the forum itself. In any event, I had done nothing wrong, but he made it clear he was just waiting for an excuse to do so, and apparently imagined one that was "valid". It was utter nonsense. No matter what decent folks might partake there, one is better off not dealing with that crowd, since the moderators always ruin the dialogue anyway. ~

Interesting Comments
by: Anonymous

Interesting comments about SFI. S8G has adopted an almost identical URL - SFI uses http://www.swordforum.com and S8G uses the same with a dash in the middle.

Paul puts a thinly veiled post about how sad it is that S8G is flailing, then gladly lets the head kickers say what he is really thinking.

Most of the things said about SFI are also being said about S8G on the net so it's a real glass house type situation.

SFI also wasn't so blatantly a front for a shop as S8G is, so say what you will about SFI but at least SFI tried to be about more than flogging $44 third world manufactured swords.

SBG FORUM is no different
by: Anonymous

You get the same fanboys and cliques on SBG Forum that always quote and reference each other on threads. Since the actual member count is so small the fanboys and cliques make up a big portion and they will bash you for disagreeing with them but act like they are objective.

SBG Forum is nothing special, just another sword forum for nerds and losers.

What did the Romans ever do for us?
by: Vaurien Silverwood

It's a shame. Sword Forum was a good place to meet and find out stuff back in the day, but seems as moribund as most forums now after the advent of facebook. I sometimes plan to post something interesting on every sub-forum just to wake things up, but then lose the will. It always suffered from micro-management, and it's own brand of sneery attack dogs ["use the search function, ask your sensei, only newbies talk about battle-ready and blood grooves" etc.] and handicapped by rules against robust discussion. When the pub went there seemed little point hanging around. I would recommend the schola gladiatoria forum [though posting is down there too], the Hema alliance forum, and maybe myarmoury, although I haven't dropped by there for years, tbh.

Other forums
by: Anonymous

Someone asked about other good forums:

Wehrmacht-awards: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59 Japanese Militaria Forum

Warrelicks: http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/japanese-militaria/

Gunboards: http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdisplay.php?52-Firearms-Of-The-Rising-Sun
Most of the posts on gunboards focus on guns, and other collectibles, but occasionally a sword will show up.

Nihonto Message Board: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/forum/45-military-swords-of-japan/

All four have great guys doing translations and plenty of expertise on smiths and swordmaking.

SFI is Dead. Adios, and the Horse it rode in on.
by: paulrward

Well, it appears that SFI is dying. Not surprising. The entire site was just a marketing tool for a few dealers to encourage people to buy fake swords to hang on their walls. The quality of the swords they tended to push was low, and the whole arrangement appeared to be intended to separate as many low information buyers from their money as possible.

The moderators were more interested in selling their own wares than in allowing discussions, and if anyone had the bad taste to actually try to discuss the use of a sword as an actual weapon, the moderators instantly got a bad case of the Hot Spurts, and banned the offender from the forum for life.

Then the moderator would send you a vulger email explaining that SFI was for people who wanted to COLLECT swords, and never, and I mean NEVER, try to use them for their intended purpose !

That is why I like SBG Forum. Friendly people who see swords as weapons exchanging ideas and knowledge.

paulrward

There is real information ther
by: Anonymous

I don't post there but there is real information there. This place on the other hand is a toxic dump of rubbish as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks, Glen C
by: Anonymous

There was a "moderator" named Glen C... a little man on a pathetic power trip. He was one of the main reasons why so many people fled in droves. A nasty piece of work, that basement dwelling loser. Totally ruined SFI with his never ending bullshit.

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