If you had a close encounter would you report it?

I found this very informative. At a quick count, less than one-fourth here, on a forum that is designed to bring in the more open minded, would tell the world. (For the sake of easy figuring I lumped all answers except a definite yes into the no group.)

This actually speaks volumes for how many sightings go unreported. THIS IS NOT MATH, but if we estimate the number of people who would be so uninterested as to just shrug it off, the number that would twist it into a form of religious experience, and those so scared or intellectually opposed to the idea that they couldn't handle it, plus those who felt that their position or careers might suffer, we might expect that the actual number of sightings/encounters would be tenfold what we know of.

As for me, I'm not telling without a lot of solid proof. And even then, I know it would be a real battle, at least as things now stand.

Another factoid to consider: if people are so reluctant to report such things now, how hard must it have been in say 1900 to do so?

In my opinion it's almost useless to start a thread about an actual encounter of some sort, Unless you have a really extravagant story, like sleeper - your experience is going to get lost in the shuffle.

So far in my lifetime, I've seen things on two occasions and even with the uniqueness of others witnessing both events, the stories will pale in comparison to that of sleeper or something like the Betty & Barney Hill abduction.

I think people are looking for the big thrill in a time where reality shows are the "in" thing - and there is no real room for stories of a more subtle nature.

1971 - Southwest West Virginia (Coal Country). Myself, my sister, my mother, my grandmother, my aunt. Broad daylight. Not a cloud in the sky. Silver/stainless steel looking disc with like an upside down bowl on the top. No wings. No discernable windows. No lights. No sound. We all watched it for a couple minutes it didn't move - just sat there. Ran off to play - 10/15 minutes later my aunt told me to go back outside and see if it was still there. It was still there in the same spot. On my own went back out maybe 15 minutes later and it was gone. We told my dad and Grandpa when they got back to the house. We didn't report it. My grandma didn't have indoor plumbing at the time, let alone a phone. I was 6 years old.

Obviously this could have been a military project of some sort, but 35 years have passed and this particular craft isn't gracing our skies.

1983 - Extreme eatern Kentucky (Coal Country) Myself & my stepsister. 11:00 p.m. at night up a hollow waiting for a cab. A hollow contains a wide path up between two mountains. It had snowed but was very clear and the stars were out. One star was brighter than the others. I pointed it out to my step-sister. She starts looking for something in her purse. The star started moving down from it's position and slightly to our left until it was traveling the length of the mountain on our left. It moved mabye 15 or 20 mph. I told her the star was moving and we both watched it until our heads couldn't turn to the left no more and it started coming down the mountain. It started down the mountain towards us. Frightened we both ran screaming inside the house. My dad and stepmom came out and we couldn't find it. It never changed shape, it never changed color and it never changed size.

For myself there is no logical answer to what we saw. I guess I could try to convince myself that the military uses little bright white stars that contain some form of artificial intelligence that are able to propel themselves towards living entities.

This was not an orb that we see depicted in photos. This was a clean crisp white star. And it does become sort of a religious experience because to this day we are awed by what we saw. We can't explain it.

How do you report something like that? And why would you want to?

I've researched the area a bit and found a few interesting things but nothing really relates to what we saw. So I come here just hoping to see if others may have had a similar event, but not many are reporting stars coming down from heaven.

We were young and we ran. I can't change that, but I wish I could. So many "what ifs".

In the example you provided, the person showed no fear and if a person could handle that - they could handle just about anything.

But like you, I would only share with my closest friends and family and I see nothing wrong with posting it here. I would never make an official report of any kind though. I feel it's none of "their" business.

Thanks for that story.

I know that I would be fascinated to see a UFO. But, I'm in that rather large catogory of people who wouldn't report it to the authorities.

If I managed to video the UFO, I'd definitely post it and be braced for all the people that wouldn't believe

Unless I had a really amazing encounter of some sort, I doubt I'd report it not for fear of ridicule but because I'd probably assume there was some "logical" explanation for it.

For example, a few years back, I saw the only "unusual" thing I had ever seen in the sky. I had just come out of a subway station in Brooklyn, New York and was waiting for a bus. I looked up and saw what appeared to be a blimp except it had no advertising or writing on it whatsoever and was not as high in the sky as I was used to seeing blimps. I remember it because everyone else was staring up at it and saying they had never seen a blimp in that area. I never saw one there ever again. My best guess is that it was a blimp that was off course or travelling in an odd direction for some reason.

I went about my business as usual after seeing it drift from east to west and out of sight behind some buildings but I will always remember that feeling of "Wasn't that strange?"

I'm still of the opinion that I wouldn't report something like this except to family friends and online. I wouldn't want to be on the local news as the guy who saw a UFO.