Does it taint the whole operation? I spent many years testing and analyzing data, and there were times along the way in a few instances where I thought I knew what the problem would turn out to be. However, I still didn't do anything to influence the testing and analysis; the results said what they said in the end. Nobody is completely unbiased; but if you do the analysis the correct way, then personal feelings don't influence the result. When there are other participants, it's unlikely that they wouldn't raise a flag if Cyber Ninjas was cheating. Personally, it offends me that every day people do a bit of research, determine the "likely" suspect, and set out to prove it - that's as bad as consensus science - which isn't science at all. In fact, it's what passes as searching for truth in courtrooms every day.