I have seen this debate and have seen the sighting database dismissed casually. I find it says much about the skeptical view point as displayed on these forums. Those sightings are by far the most compelling reason people give credit to the phenomenon. You see it stated in these forums time and time again. You dismiss the witnesses.
Dismissing eyewitness testimony wholesale is lazy.
Sas,
The evidentiary weight that is exerted from those reports is enormous. So many experienced, credible people have described the same animal/ person in very similar ways, yet you dismiss them without a pause.