The prospect of other life from other worlds is both frightening and exhilarating. From the standpoint of responsibility, I can only hope that our initial response, in whatever language we send, should be "Peace."

As one individual, who participated in the poll, one of the responses was "Excited and Hopeful" if a 'message' was recieved by intelligent extraterrestial life. If a signal was discovered, verified by scientific methodologies, and presented to the world public--it would be astounding.
It would be exciting because of verified proof on extraterrestial technological species, located somewhere in this galaxy. Also, that the message was recieved and decoded by human scientists, the nature of the message and its contents would be profound.
However, what if the message was from 30,000 light years away--the message sending species might be extinct by now--try to communicate would be a waste of time and effort.
It is important to look for extraterrestial planets that potentially could have life. It is important to look because of having a reference point for the future of our own civilization. As Earths' intelligent species, we could begin to terraform neighboring planets and moving off world, in the near future of 1,000 years. In time, this species might travel to neighboring solar systems, and potential extraterrestial planets might be of interests because of the geological and natural resources that they could provide. Even the possibility of a new planetary world, for humans in the distant future.
Of all the potential intelligent species that arose, how many of them developed into a space traveling civilization? How many intelligent species developed into planetary terraforming of neighboring planets within their own solar system? How many of those species, if any of them, survived multiple home world population crashes?
Humans are still "Naked Apes" that toss stones(voyager)out into the ocean of the universe--having not left the(Earth)savanna's of one continent. Methaphorically, in the age of the Universe, humans are still swinging in the tree's.
To paraphrase, it has been said, if there was not a god...we would have to invent the concept and religion of god hood, to hear a message therein. But what a message it would be...!

Dear M. Seth Shostak,

I am French and I manage a sport organisation in Tarnos (SO of France). I was in french territory New-Calédonia in september 2004 for working and I have seen an anormals things in the sky at night. It is not easy for me to explain what I see because my English isn't perfect.

In the sky, I could look the stars and milky way. It was very clear (no urban light). For twice, I have seen one big circle (1/4 of the moon) of light. just after , at the center of the circle who disappear, a point like satellite point appear an took the transversal. I don't think it was an atmospheric phenomenon. It was really intelligent and I could look twice the phénomenon. I am sure there is life outside the earth.
Sincerly,
Frédéric MEYROUS

"but if somebody from this world want make contact, should be hear, but its itself contradictory, who makes the first call or hearing contact, is one kind of intervention, or not?"

i could not have said it better myself, if somebody from this world want make contact it IS one kind of intervention. and while it should be hear, perhaps in a perfect world it would be hear, the fact remains that its itself contradictory, as you pointed out. only time will tell who will make the first call or hearing contact, but let us only pray that they recognize what a contradictory intervention that will be.

About the poll...., exist a basic principle: do not intervention among other world, if this is real alien,(with other relatives or very close maybe is not aplicable the " basic principle") but if somebody from this world want make contact, should be hear, but its itself contradictory, who makes the first call or hearing contact, is one kind of intervention, or not?

Seth,

I've been watching your specials on TV for several years. The ets are already here. Some are working right beside us in important jobs.

I found out March 2003 I am a lifelong alien contactee\abductee. I'm 45 years old and suddenly memories of alien encounters came flooding forward back to age 5. There is never any scientific proof of alien abductions, except for our implants and strange marks they leave on our bodies, not to mention our almost exact same description of our encounters. The reason there is no scientific proof that U.S. citizens are being taken is because the ets don't want there to be. I have always been interested in ancient civilizations and space exploration since I was a young child. Perhaps it is because subconsciously I knew I was a contactee. I read Carl Sagans books as a teenager. Bet not many teenagers read Sagan in the '70's. I don't look at all of my encounters with the greys and Nordics and others as being only victimized. I have learned a great deal about them, been given tours of their ships, seen other planets. The ets have chosen to make contact with humans in a one on one relationship. They know it would create a panic if they suddenly showed up. So they are slowly raising our awareness of their existence, one contactee\abductee at a time.

I am a Christian and everythiing I am telling you is the truth as God is my witness. Now I know God has been very busy creating other intelligent beings on other habitable planets before he created humans. The human race according to Dr. Leaky is about 200,000 years old according to the oldest known skeleton remains. I expect the ets are over 1 million years old and have interacted with humans as long as humans have walked on earth as is depicted in ancient civilizations rock carvings, glyphs, paintings and cave art. Our ancestors were drawing what they had seen, ets. I am in constant contact with several contactees who are in direct contact with ets. Not all ets are benevolent. Some mistreat humans during nightmarish traumatic abductions. The greys have an ongoing interbreeding program going on. I have been part of that breeding program to create hybrids, a mix of grey dna and human dna. For what purpose the hybrid is to serve some say is to help the dieing grey race because they cloned themselves too long and can no longer reproduce.

I have met 5 species of ets as far as I can recall. The greys, a Nordic couple and their son, a Reptoid, Human looking ets with an average height of 5 and 1/2 feet tall and hybrids including two of my own hybrid children that live with the greys.

Contact is telepathic communication whenever they take us. Many contactees have psychic abilities, including me.

The ets technology is so far advanced it makes ours look like the stone age in comparison.

Many contactees feel very strongly that the ets are going to make themselves known to the general public in a few years. Some think in 2012.

Abductees and Contactees are treated like Vietnam vets in this country. No one beleives us, not even our own families. Because we have no tangible proof of our encounters. The ets don't want there to be any proof they are taking us and interacting with us, yet. My daughter and her boyfriend have seen a ufo I called fly right over our house. This form of communication is a mental focus or shifting of conscious. They hear contactees because they have made us part of them as if we are related. Technically contactees and abductees are related to the ets because we have helped them produce hybrid children.

When the ets do arrive and make themselves know to the general public, it will be the contactees and abductees who will step forward and come out of the closet to help their friends and neighbors understand what they are dealing with because we are the experts on the subject. Too bad the media and our society treat us like crackpots. Just because you haven't been taken or seen ufos or stood toe to toe with ets on their ships, doesn't mean they don't exist.

Feel free to ask me anything and I will answer you honestly. I am telling you the truth so help me God.

Phil

I am a BOINC (Seti@Home, Einstein@Home and CDRP -climate prediction)participant. I know there are extraterrestrials and we are doing the right thing to listen for them.

As for sending a message, we should, but the when, what and how must be well defined. Right now, in most ET eyes we would seem too barbaric to even consider making contact. We need to learn the elements of peace and peacekeeping at home first.

Waddell Robey
The Riverside Advocacy Center.
Harrisburg, PA

With a lot of positive response for the possibilities of contact, are we going to be responsible stewards of newfound discoveries or are we going to impose ,indulge in man-made destruction, corruption in the way we do in some parts of our beautiful planet--Wars, anyone? Creativity in nuclear armament and nuclear-force too? Incomprehensible,despicable,greedy acquisition,extinction of the planet's resources whether human beings(massive genocides, etc) flora and fauna, mineral resources, air spaces polluted, manipulated and/or made toxic,etc.???
Must we learn more about being God-like or perpetuate more of "the human condition"??? Are we seriously going to anticipate/plan/implement building structures and systems that generate, maintain respect for the Laws of the Universe or the Cosmos as human beings have learned as life-sustaining, life elevating systems? Systems,infrastructures of cosmic, universal love and respect??? Are we going to be better at pursuing the "Ultimate Ideal"in all these instead of the inequitites, deprivations of all kinds of global poverty???

It has been several years since I read a most interesting article by either Isaac Asimov or Carl Sagan. In speculating about life on other planets, the article assumed that if a planet, for example, had very high gravity the life on it naturally be very "close to the ground" so to speak. The article then went on with other scenarios.

I'm glad that most people agree that advanced life would not be hostile. I think there must be some sense of order to life in the universe, in that if it becomes technically advanced, then surely it will mature through time as it faces many challenges to its existence by pushing the boundaries of technology and depleting their planets resources. If we stick around for long enough and survive those challenges we will also be like that, I hope.

Thanks for the invitation to post on this exciting subject. Regarding the question of what life form we may ulitmately encouter as our technology permits us to explore other worlds through communication and/or visitation, I think the probability of finding a wide variation of life forms with equally varied value systems is about the same probability as one would find here. Whether they have us for lunch or elavate our technological level is equal in probality to the likelihood that we will extend one of those concepts unto them. Some alien life may be good... some may not just as it is here on Earth. As for appearance, I believe the possiblities are endless. I'm excited to consider the possiblity of "constact" within my lifetime. By the same token, I'm a bit apprenhensive about the microscopic life forms that may challenge our biological resistance and our intellect.

About the poll...., exist a basic principle: do not intervention among other world, if this is real alien,(with other relatives or very close maybe is not aplicable the " basic principle") but if somebody from this world want make contact, should be hear, but its itself contradictory, who makes the first call or hearing contact, is one kind of intervention, or not?

It s amazing, almost real and touchable, maybe posible near in future, and past? and here in this planetary system, who Knows?. I think that the comet collisions and others substances like de elemnt iridium, could push the accelarated evolution of the different kind of life or species, do you, think about mutation like de movie evolution, no?

As a Christian, I have no problems accepting the idea that He who created the Heavens, also made provision for life elsewhere. It's like evolution... those who would argue that it is anti-christian thinking... forget that for God 'a day is like unto a 1,000 years'. I think that Mankind as a whole accepts the idea in the recesses of their mind that there is a possibility of life elsewhere in our Universe. I think that the biggest and most worrisome problem is - IF contact is made with another Intelligent Lifeform... will man be responsible enough to welcome the contact - while still maintaining a neutral attitude? Afterall, our past (and present) has been full of many incidents of "knee-jerk" aggressiveness rather than calm sustained diplomacy while holding a big stick. I think that as the Probes that have been sent out journey outward and onward towards other Galaxies that the eventuality is that we will make contact with another being.

As you have pointed out Dr.,our simple whim of existence, is miniscule and microbuable in comparison to everything else that is out everywhere in relation to my personal being as existing as an individual. It's seems a little hard to accept in relation to time envolved, we are all not much more than a phssss't in the wind. thankyou for your knowledgeable backgroud and insistance to persue these important reality's