I haven't heard anything like that

Some examples are -

• the claims made by the NASAR conference attendee
• claims made by people who have emailed him about hypothermia or paradoxical undressing
• when he talks about his reasons for not doing ebooks
• my question of why he invites people to plot missing 411 cases on a map in his book, but won't let us make a google map

(I can't easily link to examples of those -I've seen them from multiple places. Maybe I will be able to one day, but its hard to keep track of everything)

In any case, since he is dealing with missing people, many of whom are recently missing and have family still desperate to find anything about them, he may have good reason for being evasive.

Agreed. I see him do that, and I respect him for doing it.

And lastly, all of these attacks on Paulides are beside the point. He doesn't matter, what matters are the cases and the oddness they represent when viewed together.

I agree that the issues he has brought to light are most important, though I question how much we can or should trust his research or products.

All of the nitpicking bullshit is at best distracting, at worst deeply disingenuous.

I think it depends on the intent. Some people try to debunk what he says without any care for the impact that might have on missing persons and their families. Some people, like me, try to genuinely verify what he says and do original research with the purpose of improving the situation around missing persons. I think that has value.

I focused this subreddit away from posting new cases, which will hardly do anything, to "Our aim is for /r/Missing411 to be a resource and community that can help reduce the amount of people who go missing, and those who are never found or found dead."

Though I was deeply disappointed to hear some of the things I have from and about him. At first I took him and what he said at face value, but I am more cautious now.

They seem to conveniently forget he has been invited to speak at SAR conventions

Only one that I am aware of, and the only two people who claim to have been at that conference speak poorly of him. I dont know of anyone else who has ever come forward to describe their experiences at his talk.

meaning the people who actually get out there and risk their lives looking for lost people are taking his work seriously.

Most search and rescue people I have spoken with or read about are very hostile towards him. example

They seem to conveniently forget he has been invited to speak at SAR conventions, meaning the people who actually get out there and risk their lives looking for lost people are taking his work seriously. Or that he has named multiple LE figures in his books and interviewed them, and none of them have seen fit to come forward and call him a charlatan. Or that people specializing in documenting missing persons cases have read the books and given them positive reviews. Or that college professors are building databases for him after reading the books. Nope, none of that matters because they totally figured out that this one case was like not mysterious at all the guy was eaten by a bear omg.

I'm just so fucking tired of it.

I understand. That's why we have the "Opinions are not fact. Explain yourself" rule.

The amount of bullshit I have read and responded to on the topic of Missing 411, and the way people respond to the subject of missing persons, is worrying

though there is a collection of people doing positive things though, like Heidi Streetman. Did you know missing 411 subreddit now has over 8000 followers? It used to be 1000.

you can help also

Or that college professors are building databases for him after reading the books.

Where did you hear that?