WebSleuths has a rating of 1.2 stars from 107 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about WebSleuths most frequently mention law enforcement, long time, and new members problems. WebSleuths ranks 448th among Forum sites.
Websleuths is a true crime forum that has every Unsolved missing persons or murder case in America (and beyond) and if it isn't there you can ask to add it. If it is legit they want it respectfully discussed. Websleuths is moderated by amazing volunteers that selflessly give their time to do research and simplify (ie. Maps, time lines, grids) the facts of unsolved cases for purposes of spreading awareness, while being sensitive to family members or loved ones. Sleuthing is the discussion involved inspiring eachother to use critical thinking and personal experience as a group reference for seeking the questions needed to ask in order to get the answers, one debunking or added fact at a time. I have a lot of respect for them.
Most of the members posting on Websleuths dot com can be linked right back to Patricia Griffith's computer. Websleuths is an orchestra of fictitious members all being played by one lonely person with a mouse and keyboard. In the end it's just sad music.
Moderation on current cases involves restricting discussion just to things that have already been published in the mainstream media. Links to social media source material or any other useful unearthed information will mostly be banned unless LE have announced that person as a suspect, making sleuthing by then a largely pointless exercise.
The entire website is therefore largely irrelevant circular chatter and is unhelpful for any serious sleuthing by those with sharp minds and attention to detail. The only smart conversations happen between members in private chat and not in the public forum where it will be swiftly deleted. Forum posts tend towards expressing emotion and feelings rather than clinical assessment of evidence, gathering new insights, and informed theorizing. Virtue signalling for "likes" abounds. Moderators tend to invoke their Terms of Service against anyone who adopts anything other than the accepted herd mentality view on a case which longtime members constantly direct according to their "years of experience following these sorts of cases on here" - never mind the real world experience of others or the different era of crime that we're in.
Only registered to websleuths a few days ago tried to log in this morning and getting a message you have been banned what on earth is that all about I didnt even get the chance to comment.
Just look at the home page, there are so many repetitious forums it will make your head swim. However, that is not the main beef I have with them. If you post something contrary to what the site wants you to think, for example, of someone's guilt or innocence, they will pick on you, delete your posts and bully you. But if you go along with their ideology, your posts will be safe. Their rules only seem to apply to those whose theories do not align with theirs. They are like a cult, with lots of cult like behavior! They also scam members for "donations" to run the site, with this cult like owner on the You Tube Channel, she rakes in a ton of money under the guise that the server bill was high or the ads are not paying off because of covid. (they do make money from ads) They run it like a telethon on the You Tube channel. There are plenty of other sites that are a lot more professionally organized and run, I don't mind paying either if there is something professional and of substance rather than a cult like atmosphere, constantly asking for donations to be part of the "in crowd."
Tip for consumers:
Go elsewhere and don't join the cult!
II joined eagerly thinking this is kind of forum I could learn law from and how investigations are actually done. I was wrong. Most of those I've come across do not go by any law standards and feel free to through half truths into a mix of lies. People arrested are already guilty even before the arraignment. Modern-day old-school witch hunt. They question the ability for LE to do their jobs by trying to fit triangles into a circular hole and not understanding why things they feel are not adding up. Certain pet rocks get the treatment of the free range to where they can say any nasty old thing they want about both victims and the accused and then when called on it parade a miss america speech of thank you's to the towns LE and all those that hold office then go in for the dig on the person. Unimpressed with Moderators and Grown adults viciously attacking others insofar as placing words into other's mouths when the other person simple doesn't feel they are making sense in what they are saying. Not my place. I'd rather make some friends who KNOW LE like the back of their hands. Sticking to the rules of LAW is justice for the victims. Not bashing their parents or grandparents. NOT a VICTIM FRIENDLY SITE
They bully people and heavily censor the conversation. The moderators are a joke (don't expect a response if you need help). There are plenty of better sites out there.
I went to the site to find information on a certain cold case. What I found was one member destroying not only the victims but the surviving family members. It's a horrible way to treat victims.
Enjoyed Websleuths for several years, but I find that my posts are continually deleted. My posts are tame by most accounts, but apparently you are limited. I chose to not read that forum anymore.
I asked a question on covid thread, where is the site that is fact, not andtidotal info. It was removed, then another post was called snarky and removed? I tried to ask Trisha how to remove my membership and info. Nothing, then I asked on the thread how to contact the mods's. It was removed. I tried to remove my information myself, I couldn't. I sent a personal conversation to another mod to ask to remove my membership, nothing. Now I am banned for "Goodbye, cruel websleuth posts"? Don't understand the failure to communicate with a member when I asked, and I don't understand the obvious bias of the mods to the subject of Covid.
I've been a member for a few months after a local case became national news. There are many great posters at the site but unfortunately you have moderation policies that aren't evenly applied and moderators differ their moderation from thread to thread. A discussion forum should have high standards of moderation that are evenly applied. Instead, you have a bunch of power hungry, nazi style inconsistent moderation that makes what could be a great site into a joke. For example, each forum has moderators assigned but it's not uncommon for the site owner to jump in and "take over" with her bullish tactics and marginalizing the actual moderator of that thread or category. She under minds her moderators with a god complex. Want to give an opinion? Fugetaboutit. The mods will not only put you in time out but you could be banned very quickly. No, I'm sorry folks but this is the last place where sleuthing is encouraged. It's simply a collection of news media posts that do nothing to further a cause and finding criminals. After enduring several months and trying to be a good contributor I found myself dumbfounded by the idiotic policies of this site. Don't waste your time.
I have been a member of Websleuths for over a year. I find most of the other members to be caring, intelligent people who write interesting commentary on cases. They frequently bring relevant life and job experience to bear on the discussions. For example, members come from all sorts of occupations that can be relevant to a case under discussion: attorneys, teachers, nurses, psychologists, social workers, members of law enforcement, etc.
I don't understand why so many of the reviews on this site are negative, but it looks like many of the people commenting here violated Websleuths' terms of service. The TOS stipulate a variety of rules that keep the site informative and civil: information must come from a mainstream media source; victim-shaming is not tolerated; family members of victims or suspects are not to be sleuthed; etc. I comment quite often and I've never had a "time out."
If you are interested in Websleuths, check it out. With over 150,000 Websleuth members, the reviews on this site are not representative of most members. Judge for yourself.
A lot of the members are rude and snarky or want a single minded mentality when discussing what happened. They also spread misinformation, repeat the same rumors or start to act like they're facts despite having no proof and get mad if anyone tries to prove it's not true. I got attacked for pointing out one that wasn't true despite having proof. They also obsessively stalk the subject's social media accounts or don't even fully research all the facts and the threads sometimes go in circles. Someone also disappeared from my area few months back and I shared info about the site conditions in the area they disappeared from and got rude responses from people who aren't even from the area and have NEVER been there during the conditions described. The mods remove important information as well that would be helpful in discussing the case or leading to more clues, even info from social media replies from people who know the missing person get removed in threads. I don't think I'm going to bother posting anymore and might just stick to other sites that don't censor important info.
Join WS before researching the credibility and integrity of owner Tricia Griffith. Currently site has added an ad video company, so she can collect money. After numerous complaints Trisia addresses on thread, she doesn't know why everyone's data is being eaten up and she has her man working on it. She says she's trying to fix but having to talk to people in another country. When members post apps to block the video, they are deleted. After weeks she post SHE NEEDS MONEY to keep site going and that's the reason all along for the unstoppable advertising videos. She's pissed closed many threats in retaliation because members won't join at 5 per month to watch her pod cast. She wants to be famous with her pod cast which are boring and drone on in her try to be sexy type voice. She is a user. In the worst way. After sleuthing Tricia, it seems she does this frequently and uses scare techniques to scare members of closing the site.
She abuses GoFundMe and needs to be reported to them and to the state commission for unethical business practices. Every six months she a new scheme to beg for donations. Wonder if she is reporting the funds collected to the IRS? Doubt it.
How much salary is she collecting from the site? It's BIG BUCKS. She's a dried up, bleached blonde, scam artist, seeking fame to feed her ego.
The state needs to open an investigation into her shady business and put her out of her misery. She does have a lot of older retired members who don't have money to support her and give money they need for food and medicine.
Do everyone a favor and call the state of Utah and report her for scamming.
Where do I begin? Young black men or boys are always "gang bangers" (tip of the hat to Katydid23, total racist $#*!), DA and Prosecutors are always leg-hump worthy (the "Juanettes" in the Arias trial-although he was later disbarred for being a sexual predator) and anyone who posts against the MAGA loons gets a month-long "Time Out". Oh! And lazy-assed Tricia who begs for money NON STOP but cannot be arsed to know any details of the crimes she features on her lame assed podcast. Moderators are akin to Gestapo and allow racist $#*!s to post whatever, but if you report it, you get the ban. If Sean Hannity were a message board, it would be Websleuths. ***CarlK is amazing, however. I have no idea why his talents are wasted in that $#*!hole***
Tip for consumers:
Websleuths is a racist fake-true-crime forum. Mods are $#*!s and the owner interrupts thread about murdered children to beg for money. Tacky as hell.
If you want to be timed out for having an opinion that differs from the mods or the favorite posters opinions, if you want to be bombarded by the owner TRICIA GRIFFITH begging for donations, if you want to have your PM's read by the mods, then this is the place for you. And that doesn't even cover the fact that most of these threads are ruined by Tricia and her minions inability to stick to simple rules. The rules that are implemented are ridiculous and do not allow you to be a websleuth-er, which is ironic given their name. And that is if you can follow the rules, considering Tricia and her mods change the rules depending on the thread, and the poster.
There are favorite posters who basically post what they wish, I assume they are giving Tricia money, usually how it works there. And then there are posters who get banned for simply having an opinion.
And now Tricia, and her little pet, Levi, want members to leave 5 star reviews and donate money to a podcast that they have not even made an episode of yet. So hilarious.
Here's a suggestion that would make the site 100% better, TRICIA, sell up to someone with a brain and good morals, and you run along and get a job. Then you won't have to keep asking the people you plan to ban or the people you $#*! about in your secret mod threads for money.
(I haven't even been banned yet, I didn't get that far before walking away)
I used WebSleuths for decades, going back probably to the Scott Peterson trial. The site hosts forums to discuss criminal cases. It used to be more free-wheeling, but has become unusably authoritarian, in my opinion.
I understand that it's their site, and they can do what they want, but be aware that other reviews are correct. There are a handful of "regulars" that have a free reign to argue and abuse and if you don't fawn over their posts you are suspect and subject to arbitrary "time outs" and banning.
Beyond the cliquey nature of the site, a fatal flaw is intolerance for anything sourced from "new media." Basically the only sources allowed are what they call "main stream media," which means the story is usually over before anyone is allowed to talk about it.
Something I found particularly insidious was support and encouragement for seemingly mentally unhealthy behavior. The Gabby Petito case was an example. It was astounding how many acts of normal human interaction these people found to be clear cut examples of domestic violence. I can't image what their lives are like, but some could probably benefit from professional help. The Covid forum is another example that would be comical if it wasn't so sad. It's an echo chamber of hysteria and misinformation where many attempted to inject a healthier perspective and all were banned.
It's a shame because there are some nice people there, but those relationships can be ended by an arbitrary ban.
Tip for consumers:
Be very careful posting to avoid a ban,
Products used:
Free site with many ads.
If your comment is intelligent, accurate, truthful and promotes critical thinking then websleuths is not for you. Power tripping at its worst.
Moderators are dictators, rude, bossy. Website is unclear and confusing.
Hard to use... Giving comments or reading comments
Very funny. Personable presenter. Talks about latest interest everyone wants to know about. Has on Great guests.
Very childish and hostile blog. Dominated by gang mentality in both bloggers and staff. Often compared to mean playground games.
Don't waste your time on this biased, bully echochamber. Just read the news and info released by law enforcement and you'll know as much or more than you will by reading this rubbish. And god forbid, you try to contribute anything useful in the way of unique insights into a case. If the bully moderators or their chosen few members didn't come up with, it is considered a violation of "the rules" and they will throw a temper tantrum and put you in "time out" like a little schoolkid. Members afraid of getting punished by the NaziMods tip toe around by throwing around silly acronyms like JMOO, JMO, MOO, IMO, IMOO, like a bunch of cattle mooing. It's hiliarous. In addition, they are clearly left-wing biased, so they have a huge blindspot when examining any information. There is no "sleuthing" going on here. Rather, it's like watching The View or some worthless show like that. STAY AWAY!
Websleuth's is not a freedom of speech website. Moderators delete, and ban anyone who's opinion differs from theirs.
A true waste of time.
This site gets off on power tripping mods who cannot come to a consensus on the terms of service for using the site.
Treats new members like they are animals and decided to close down the WT thread. Get off your high horse, prick
Most ill informed bunch of people ever. Owner is a joke. Gatekeepers everywhere. Again average IQ about 38. Actually think LE uses them.
Website is a echo chamber. Childish owner and mods bully members that do not subscribe or agree with their opinions.
Is this your business?
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