Granted, tires are a much more important part of the comfort equation than were forks. That doesn't invalidate my original statement. I won't argue that consumers are attracted to curved forks or that they're more aesthetically pleasing (to me any way). I've changed forks on a number of my bikes and can tell you there was a noticeable difference in the ride of the bikes, depending on the forks I used. Same tires, same pressures, same geometry. I suppose if one uses 32c tires at 80psi, a difference may be un-noticeable. A 25c at 110 psi the difference can be clearly noticeable.
Regardless, forks are still not strong enough to use as a strut brace...
I hadn't read rec.bicycle.tech in years. Where does it mention forks in the context we're discussing?
Peter