We have heard speculating that Dylan is alive and MR is innocent, when this hasn't been established as fact as well. My understanding is reasonable speculation based on the possibilities LE has set out which includes abduction or something happened in the home. LE hasn't speculated in awhile whether they believe Dylan is alive or not. JMO
I completely agree and my own post has been nagging at me since I wrote it earlier. I actually hurried back from grocery shopping so I could clarify!
Jumping off from your post, I hope I didn't come across as saying that any reasonable theories or speculation shouldn't be discussed because that wasn't my intent at all! Also I'm not a mod, nor do I play one on TV, so it's just my :twocents:. I hope I'm not stepping on any toes. I'm not trying to tell people how to post, that's up to the mods. I'm just talking about why it seems important to me as a fellow WSer.
What I was trying to get at is it's important, IMO, to differentiate what's speculation and what's known fact, so that the "what ifs" don't morph into facts. For example there's this: "
What if Dylan didn't want to be there? IMO that might lead him to do XYZ" - to me that is a great starting point for ideas!
Compare that to: "
Dylan didn't want to be there, so IMO he might do XYZ..." and speculation starts kind of revolving around the "fact" that he didn't want to be there. If it's repeated over and over or people are joining the discussion mid-way after 30+ threads, next thing you know many ideas start with "Since Dylan didn't want to be there..."
To me it's similar to the difference between "
Since MR is innocent, here's an idea...", "
What if MR is involved? In that case here's a thought..." and "
What if MR isn't involved? In that case, here's a thought..." It can make a huge difference 2 or 3 pages (or threads) down the line. I really like reading the scenarios that are clearly identified as speculation based on the little we know as facts because they seem to get all of us thinking outside the box as azgrandma mentioned. Maybe we'll think of something helpful, you know?
Hope that makes sense (if it's clear as mud, my apologies). As always, the most important thing remains finding Dylan! I don't mean to be nitpicky - I really do think this applies to finding him. I worry that if we get stuck on facts that aren't facts we might overlook some possibility, theory, or idea that could ultimately be helpful.
All MOO.

Come home soon Dylan.