A question about "Clues"
No. If they are not objectives, they just give you little tidbits aside from the main story. If they are objectives, they give you tidbits from the main story. Most clues come together to turn into the souvenir you get when you complete the story arc.
All clues are (or should be) documented at ParagonWiki if you're curious about missing some. Just look up the contact.
Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
City Info Terminal: http://cit.cohtitan.com
Mids Hero Designer: http://www.cohplanner.com
I've always been curious about these "Clues" that you can find while doing missions from contacts but never remember to ask about it. Certain missions require you to actually find these clues in order to complete the mission.
However, there are several missions where you can complete the mission and exit it via the blue "Exit" button. I've stayed back on one of these missions after the mission completed, just to kill off a couple more mobs since I was very close to leveling. To my surprise I found a "blinky" and decided to click on it and received the "Clues Found!" message.
What I'm asking here is...do these clues actually affect your mission arcs somehow? Does it give you access to different missions from the same contact that would otherwise not show up if you didn't find the clue? I sure as heck have clicked the exit button many times right when the mission finishes without bother searching any further for clues...have I been missing out on these missions?