Logan Paul and the elusive quest to build a free-speech platform that's not a cesspool

Mayweather and Paul (right) face-off during a media event in June. Part of Subify's pitch is that there are almost no restrictions on what Paul can post in the Maverick Club, or what other celebrities can post through their own Subify-enabled channels. — Getty Images/TNS

Logan Paul hasn't posted a new YouTube video in over six months. His last two uploads were titled I'm Fighting Floyd Mayweather This Week and My Last Words To Floyd Mayweather. Then, silence. If you didn't know better, you'd think he died in the ring.

What else but a fatal boxing incident, after all, could have led one of the most famous YouTubers in the world — a controversial but charismatic web presence who helped shape the template for modern e-celebrity — to leave his 23.2 million subscribers on radio silence for half a year and counting?