To the ufo "true believers": Why is your bar set so low?

The thing that's wildly disappointing to me -- as someone who is firmly on the fence about the phenomena -- is the relative lack of evidence that's come forth since cell phones have come into wider use.

I figured that with what seemed to be numerous sightings in the 90s, video footage would only improve as millions of people now have little video cameras in their pockets.

That unfortunately hasn't happened. It's still the same sort of Rorschach test when it comes to visual evidence. There hasn't been a true smoking gun, and -- as much as anything -- that makes me a little more skeptical than I was just a decade ago.

originally posted by: DeadKennedys
The thing that's wildly disappointing to me -- as someone who is firmly on the fence about the phenomena -- is the relative lack of evidence that's come forth since cell phones have come into wider use.

I figured that with what seemed to be numerous sightings in the 90s, video footage would only improve as millions of people now have little video cameras in their pockets.

That unfortunately hasn't happened. It's still the same sort of Rorschach test when it comes to visual evidence. There hasn't been a true smoking gun, and -- as much as anything -- that makes me a little more skeptical than I was just a decade ago.

This is simply untrue. Hundreds of videos a year are taken by people with mobile phones. In fact there is quite a clear one on the front page of the Aliens & UFOs forum of a man filming one over a Canadian city. The problem is that even the best of these mobile device cameras are limited in the quality of image or video they can capture from great distance. You end up with a pic or vid of something but it's almost impossible to make a conclusive determination of what it is or isn't. So what ends up happening is people shrug and say "I dunno, maybe it's a balloon" or a drone or etc.

Right now I believe the best mobile phone camera is the new Nokia at 41 megapixels (most cell phone cameras are nowhere near that good) and even with that it would still take so-so video or photos of anything distant in the sky. There's a reason professional photographers have giant-ass telephoto lenses on their cameras when shooting at a distance...because even the best cameras are useless from afar without them.

originally posted by: Bandersn4tch
The real question here is, why are you setting the bar so high for ufo nuts. :^)

Don't forget... You only get to meet the ones they threw back. Not much chance of meeting a keeper!

originally posted by: DeadSeraph
a reply to: ETWolf

Is there any supporting evidence to suggest it's an alien space ship?

Why are you so confident one possibility (the mundane) should be dismissed, and the fantastic embraced solely because....well, because why?

A point I've made many times on many forums. I wish that people, PLEASE, would use the term UFO in the classic sense. When someone asks me if I believe in UFOs I want to bang my head on the wall... Do I think people see things in the sky moving around and they aren't able to identify them? Of course I do. It's a silly question if only you take a moment to think.

I've always liked to use the example of some aboriginal in uncharted territory. If He/She saw a schoolbus crest a hill and then disappear into the valleys, they would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had seen Something but wouldn't have the context to tell you what they've seen.