I think this thread is interesting, in a strictly speculative sense (and downright enjoyable if you skip past the CIPA posts).

I read the original article and was fairly underwhelmed by it.
I agree with the posters that say that the evidence that has been presented so far has been crummy at best. The last time that we got a really god scare that there were ETs was when we discovered pulsars. Astronomers (ro and ameateur) turn thousands of telescopes to the sky nightly, nevermind binocs or naked eye observations. And still nothing. Why? Probably because there's nothing there.

In fact, I've only seen two things in the sky that I couldn't explain at the time.

The first was when I was eight. My friend and I saw these glowing disks making sharp turns and loops every four or five minutes just under the cloud layers. It turned out to be spotlights from a nearby car dealership.

Hey. we were eight. And for the record, I can't see how people can confuse Venus with UFOs, and yet I've been present when people have said it.

The second time was a few years ago, just after dusk. While scanning directly overhead a really bright light appeared out of nowhere, crossed about 10 degrees of the sky in a straight line and then disappeared. Yes, it was sunlight reflecting off a sattelite. I had just started observing the night sky again and I didn't know about flares like that. I found out a few hours later, surfing the net.

Another point I'd like to bring up regards old alien cultures and visitation. I like the idea of there being cultures that have existed for millions, maybe even billions of years. I think it's pretty plausible. And with that kind of time (and probably a lot less) I'm sure this galaxy has been mapped back to front a thousand times. The point being is that at some juncture, these maps are going to get passed down from species to species. no doubt somewhere in the Milky Way there is THE map of the galaxy and it only gets updated when necessary. So unless there's a species just next door that just figured out FTL or cryogenics or is really desperate to get here we're not getting visited.

Think I'm talking out my posterior? Consider driving from Salt Lake City to LA. Think of all those miles along the interstate. Imagine that's the Milky Way. Now think of the earth as being a mile off the highway. What are the odds of us being seen? What are the odds of someone saying 'hi'? Slim to none. What if there's a hill in the way? Now were never being seen. There are a million and one reasons why we're not being visited, being with the fact that we're boring or off the beaten path.

No, if we're going to meet ETs it'll be out there. And maybe thats what they are waiting for (if indeed there are any to wait). Maybe there's a nice signpost out by the heliopause (to heck with the Oort cloud - any shmuck with a probe can get there) giving us directions. After all, they're probably not sadistic. They wouldn't mind giving us a hand at that point. It would also, buy the way, remind us who really is in charge.

John