Most academics in the field of linguistics have not paid attention to Oates' work,[7] and it has been called a pseudoscience.[1][2] For the most part, universities and research institutes have refused to test Oates' theories because of a lack of theoretical basis to make his predictions even worth testing, and the fact that many of his claims are untestable,[2][4][8] but one of the few scientific experiments to evaluate Oates' claims did not support his findings.[7] Others have criticized "reverse speech" as lacking a rigorous methodology and not being informed by an understanding of issues in linguistics,[2] and characterized Oates as "more interested in making a profit than educating others," pointing out the large amount of merchandise and services his website sells.[1][8] Reverse speech has been compared to the controversial field (labelled a pseudoscience by some) of neuro-linguistic programming.[8] Because of the "dogmatic" tone of Oates' material, reverse speech has been compared to "fringe literature."[2]