*sigh* where do we even start? Firstly, the website itself is a NIGHTMARE. Security is at a zero, you cannot delete anything you post anywhere and any private information you have on there will forever be vulnerable. On top of this, the website just doesn't even work 40% of the time, you get error messages multiple times a day making it the most poorly designed site I have ever seen in my entire life. It's honestly embarrassing. They're always asking for donations and patreon support, as well as blasting the most vile ads, you'd think they'd take some of that money an invest in a more stable, safe, working infrastructure.

Now let's get into what makes this place the 5th circle of hell. Off the bat, they depend on ad revenue to pay their dictators, I mean moderators, meager unlivable wages. Which means that they have to rule with an iron fist for any kind of language and behavior that is deemed inappropriate for ad revenue. They are not doing any of this out of the kindness of their hearts to help solve crime, they are exploiting murders and crimes to then justify making money from them. The mods do not even know all of the rules themselves because they are always changing them to justify whatever agenda they are following. For example, back in the day, astrology threads were welcome and commonplace. These days, if you post anything metaphysical related, you will be hit by an invisible rule in the book that doesn't exist anywhere but will be enforced anyway. Another example of this kind of behavior is apparent when the mods themselves don't read the threads and remove things that have been approved for discussion or already exist in an acceptable form on the thread. They will also pick and choose who they want to target, deleting entire posts when they could simply edit out the sentence or two that is not compliant up to their standards. They will also tell people that they cannot tell others what to do what to say or how to think, but in the same breath are hyper hypocritical and behave like they are above all of the rules they force everyone to follow. You literally have no voice and their abuse of power is one of the most disgusting things I have ever witnessed when it comes to online forums. If I'm quite frank, they should ALL be ashamed of themselves for partaking in this kind of toxic environment willingly. There is a sick power dynamic and it is very clear that the people who mod and lead the mods are extremely powerless in their own lives and take it out on random internet strangers on the daily. It's clear that the owners cannot pull their heads out for long enough to not let their massive egos get in the way of running an ethical, successful, and FAIRLY censored website because the notoriety and money they make is far more important to them than doing the right things. They can try to hide behind it being for the victims sake, but it is very clear the only thing that motivates them all is $$$$$. Sillybilly is one of the saddest, most pathetic mod managers I have ever seen at work in my entire life, followed directly by Knitty, who strives to mimic every move Sillybilly makes. People get censored, put on time out, banned, deleted, etc, WRONGFULLY may I add, and because there is no way to see something once it is gone, no one can even exonerate themselves of any wrongdoing. The mods will literally lie on the "reason for deletion" on purpose for people they don't like and there is nothing anyone can do about it because once it's gone, it's gone. Put in a pending deletion box for an IMPARITAL mod leader to approve/deny/edit and hold yourselves ACCOUNTABLE. Watching these adults behave like middle aged toddlers has been the most off-putting experience one could have on WS. They are constantly boasting how "we're not reddit" "we're not like the other websites" in regards to that kind of stuff doesn't fly here when in reality, the only reason they're so hard on the rules is to not have analytics flag the website so that they can keep monetizing the literal worst and last moments of people's lives.

The only good thing about WS is the members, particularly the long standing ones, they are angels on this earth. Their one star is for all of the actually amazing people that come to the site for the victims. The rest of them? Jail.

The concept of this site is terrific, but execution leaves much to be desired. It's great that they make the attempt to confine discussion to what they consider fact, but they declare mainstream media to be the only justifiable source to verify fact all while acknowledging that most of what is promoted by mainstream media today has little credibility due to bad reporting, incorrect "facts", and inconsistency. Users are constantly reminded that social media can't be used to substantiate factual information, yet readers are constantly pointed in the direction of interesting tidbits seen on sites such as Facebook -- there are threads that have little to nothing to do with coming together to help the victim, but instead are just post after post telling the reader to go get info from Facebook. Do yourself a favor and never read a thread about a missing child, because you will be subjected to a never-ending Greek chorus about the failures of CPS or the ruthlessness of CPS or the ignorance/laziness/corruptness/cruelty of CPS for not being omniscient (because moaning about it always helps find a missing child...) Add to that the never-ending chain of "that child should have been taken away and given to me, I would have loved it" and that good old standby "RIP" and you'll want to rip your own face off after a while. Websleuths allegedly does not allow discussion of sleuthing individuals not named as persons of interest, yet they have over 100 threads for Gabriel Petito in which it's a free-for-all bashing the boyfriend's family and sharing their personal details, that whole mess should have been a shameful embarrassment yet moderators were standing there shoulder-to-shoulder with the others slinging mud and posting an endless litany of "Kill the monsters" and "Poor Gabby" and similar drivel. In its defense, the site does offer the opportunity for people to bring together skills from all different walks of life, and information is shared that can lead to real solutions in some of these cases -- many unidentified individuals have gotten their names and dignity returned to them, and clues have helped law enforcement make progress in solving murders or finding missing persons. And the moderators do help to keep the crazies at bay, at least those that are obviously wearing tinfoil hats. The site does offer a large number of resources for families of those who are missing, and can be a really good source of support. There's a lot of good, but you have to wade through an endless amount of hooey to get there.

The sixth and seventh amendments of the constitution are based upon Benjamin Franklin's thought and metaphor: "Better to set 100 guilty men free, then to convict one innocent man". I totally and wholeheartedly agree with this and base my entire way of thinking around this quote because I can't even begin to fathom what it would be like to be wrongly convicted and sent to prison for the rest of your life or majority of your life. There would be no greater hell. And with that being said, if you join the Websleuth's forum, you are only allowed to take one side (they see it as taking sides, they don't see it as analyzing) and that is whatever side the majority of Websleuther's are taking. If you argue for the defense, they will see it as you attacking the victims and it really isn't so. That kind of ideology needs to stop. Just because your exploring all possible avenues of what might have happened, does NOT mean you are attacking the victim or taking the suspect's side. Stop tying that together because it's wrong. For as smart as some of them appear to be, they make themselves look very small and ignorant if they are not willing to consider all sides of the story and debate it civilly. A necessary discussion and serious analysis always needs to happen to make sure that one being charged is in fact guilty. That is what our entire justice system is based upon.

Just a by note and this by note is not just about Websleuths even though Websleuths is extremely guilty for doing this; We as a society have made it entirely acceptable that it's ok to base guilt on someones behavior. You do NOT base guilt on someones behavior. You base guilt on EVIDENCE. TANGIBLE EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE THAT CAN NOT BE REFUTED, especially in a day in age where technology is at it's best, even technology can be wrong though. There are millions of reasons why people act the way they do, unless you are telepathic you will NEVER know what they're thinking or why they behave the way they do. I'm not saying behavior is not a factor and shouldn't be analyzed or considered, but it definitely should NOT be the deciding factor of ones guilt or innocence. Period. If I was a jury member in a trial and the prosecution based any of their evidence on behavior and had very little physical evidence, the prosecution would lose all my respect immediately and they will lose me hard to the defenses side.

Anyway, do not make the mistake, like so many others have, thinking that you are freely allowed to say what you think if you join that website. If you do not think like the majority, you will be verbally attacked and booted. That also is not good because they demand to know your real name and for you to prove it to them (to do God knows what with it) before you join. One former member has said "it takes an act of congress to be accepted to that forum" and that is certainly true. I do not know who they think they are to demand anything from anyone. The whole point of forums are anonymity. I am not going to give my real anything to a website ran by an owner I don't even know.

The reason why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1, is because they are a very good source for information about a case (links and such). However, always keep in mind that the links or information being provided could be tainted or innocently have wrong information on it, so always be wary of that, and that is true for any website. And another reason I gave them a 2 instead of a 1, is because some of them do come up with some pretty brilliant theories of what may have happened to victims and missing people, I can't deny that. They do work very hard to help victims. However, they need to work just as hard to make sure the one being accused is truly guilty. It's equally as important. It seems as though, if the media names a suspect or they come up with a suspect themselves, they just run with it and not even question it, and that is terribly wrong in my opinion. That is where the 6th and 7th amendment come in and Benjamin Franklin's famous quote. They do not care, examine or analyze if the suspect named in a case is truly guilty and that is terribly wrong to me. If I was a jury member, I need to be CERTAIN without a shadow of a doubt, to convict someone of a crime and send them to prison. I am a very tough nut to crack so you better have impeccable evidence to convince me that someone is guilty. The more that people try to convict someone, the more I am going to lean to the defense's side. I want to make up my own mind and base it on facts and TRUTH. I am not, nor will I ever be, in some popularity contest. I am a very individualistic based thinker and I do not follow the crowd... I am not weak minded. I want justice for a victim but I want it done in the correct way and there is no greater justice than to make sure that the RIGHT person is convicted of the crime.

So my opinion of this website is very, very poor. They are very controlling. If they are reading this, it is probably driving them absolutely insane that they cannot control my post about them. Ahahahahaha. I had to let a good chuckle out for that.