Archaeology anon here, Sitchin is not a joke, his research inspired many to follow in his footsteps. While his translaition of Sumer cuneiforms could be considered "plausible"at least it gave us a good starting place to investigate and build upon. The Annunaki search for gold to save Niburu may sound like a joke but the original Sumerian texts translate more like Enlil and Enki were looking for a energy super-conductor (gold) rather than an atmosphere for their planet (since Niburu was never even mentioned in the original Sumerian).