Panamintcity

[netllama]

Alongside Hiking Death Valley, Steve's website was one of the best resources available for hikers. His work has inspired countless people, myself included, and it's disappointing to see this sense of entitlement in suggesting that he "owes" anyone something.

I don't think anyone is claiming that Steve owes them anything. However, internet etiquette is that if you release information, it remains available indefinitely. You don't take it away later. Steve was pretty naive around this fact, and its caused a lot of friction.

Its great that you found Steve's website to be such a great inspiration and aid. Please keep in mind that not everyone feels that way.

This forum has generally been such a positive and encouraging space, so it's disheartening to see people criticizing Steve simply because he chose to take down his website. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times, and he’s always been incredibly friendly and deeply passionate about Death Valley. To suggest that he removed the site "for drama" feels like an unfair and unkind assumption—and honestly, beneath the respectful discourse I’ve come to appreciate here.

Steve is great in person. No one is disputing that. But his online persona is not the same as what he's like in person. I do not see anything disrespectful about people sharing their views here. A diversity of views makes for healthy debate. No one is being abusive in their feedback. Note that Steve chose to withdraw from public forums. That doesn't mean that others cannot carry on a discourse about his behavior.