You're posting a mix of screen shots of old Doug B's comments and former opinions as if they're his current views with your highly biased and speculative assertions as to Doug B's intent and motivations. The result is that your narrative appears fabricated and it appears you have an agenda is to smear Doug B by dredging up obsolete quotes. Is that fair? If Doug B admits that he was wrong and apologizes, which he has, then these types of criticisms don't appear relevant or fair. I think your negative bias towards Doug B is obvious and it appears that you haven't gotten over your previous disputes with him for which he has publically apologized to you. I can understand your feelings for being unfairly criticized and ostracized by Doug B over the C-SS issue when you were correct and produced the best evidence that C-SS lids were post-war fabrications, but Doug B capitulated on that issue and apologized.
You're implying that Hicks and Doug B both knew the C-SS lid was fake from the beginning, but I don't think that's the case. I believe they were both fooled by the spray-job. And, a big difference between Hicks and Doug B is that Doug B doesn't condone fakery; Hicks does.
Doug B has publically refuted the claims of David May's XRF lid testing and XRFacts. Prior to that, about five or six years ago, he was dazzled with Maui's XRF claims. Besides the XRFact cofounders, Doug B could have been considered an XRF lid testing insider, because of his participation providing lids for their baseline, and his proximity and relationship to Hicks and May. Would it be fair to criticize Doug B today for being dazzled by XRF lid testing five years ago after he's publically revealed how flaky and unreliable their lid XRF data was? I don't think it would be fair, because it doesn't reflect his current views and he has publically admitted he was initially wrong about XRF lid testing. It was easy for a non-technical type person to be dazzled by the XRFacts light show.
Listen tjg, DougB was
no ordinary Joe-collector with a few SS helmets, a few friends and some "opinions" that were shown to be wrong that he "apologized" for.
DougB was probably one of the most prolific SS helmet collectors in the entire history of the hobby.
People saw him as an authority and he behaved like an authority by answering questions, giving advice, posting detailed studies of SS decals, etc... And very importantly, he made no bones about his "close collecting friendship" with the man known for manufacturing "authenticity" for the biggest hoax to ever hit the helmet collecting community, Kelly Hicks. DougB was also an extremely active PROMOTER of the C-SS fraud on helmet forums by his innumerable vettings of C-SS as "textbook Champagne decals".
I know that you will probably NEVER understand this tjg, but I will say it for the less positively biased among us. It is clear to me that Kelly and Doug worked as a team to promote and sell C-SS to much less knowledgeable collectors. As we saw earlier, Kelly manufactured C-SS "authenticity" by publishing books with many photos and numerous false statements about them (re: the 'brass pulver' construction that caused the champagne hue, etc..). DougB was an active PROMOTER of this fraud by establishing himself as an SS helmet 'authority' on forums and by his vettings of C-SS as "textbook" decals.
By using the word "Textbook" to describe C-SS, DougB was not merely stating that the fake insignia was found in Kelly's books. 'Textbook' in the collecting world means that something is 100% period produced, pre-May 1945 Third Reich era production. So DougB was making false statements as an SS helmet authority by saying that C-SS was 100% period production, not only that it was published in Kelly's books.
The plan IMO was for the two to build TRUST in the collecting community. Kelly built trust by publishing his many books on the topic and giving C-SS "legitimacy" in those books. His many photos and descriptions of the fraud gave collectors the idea that Kelly the author was an expert and knew what he was talking about.
DougB's job was to appear on helmet forums and show off his massive SS helmet collection, inspiring awe and respect as an 'expert'. By giving advice, vettings and producing his SS decal studies, he marketed himself as an SS helmet authority and also began building TRUST among collectors. As an SS helmet expert, he began vetting C-SS as "textbook", not only a reference to Kelly's books but also making the unabashed claims that C-SS was 100% TR era production.
With the two working together (one the author and the other the promoter) C-SS helmets began flying off of Kelly's website. This was due largely to the aura of "expertise" that the two exuded and the TRUST that potential buyers had for the duo.
Once business began to boom, DougB's other job was to destroy all credible threats and resistance to the C-SS fraud, which he did with great enthusiasm. If you were his 'friend' raising credible threats, he would bury you under a pile of B.S. and meaningless statements in the hope that you would just give it up. If you were an outsider, he would gradually increase the heat by pouring on his frustration, anger, swearing and vulgarity in an attempt to get you to break off the attack. Liberal post alterations, outright removals and member banning were reserved for the more tenacious 'trouble-makers' such as myself
Are they transparent and comprehensive like the discussions here? If someone wants to see both sides, the truth, transparency, is it better to have such discussions here, or there?
