That is what Skeptics do all the time to other people, and that's why I really do not like their attitude.

No it isn't. What sceptics do (UK spelling, but a rose by any other name ;-) is ask the question "what's the most likely explanation for this event, based on evidence available for the various possible explanations?" Someone who says "I won't believe regardless of evidence" (per Donuel's initial assertion) is an atheist, not a sceptic.

The problem with UFOs, the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot is that although there are a zillion people who say they've seen them and a zillion bad photos of them, there's not a right lot of hard evidence. There *is* however a lot of hard evidence of cases proved to be caused by sleep disturbance, hallucinations and straightforward lies. Inventing wild ideas is great, but contact with reality is required. Many scientists dislike other scientists for showing that their pet idea is rubbish, but if that pet idea was rubbish then that's what needed to happen. Mediaeval religion and witch trials is a good example of what happens if you base your actions on wild ideas and apparently-logical steps which take you to an obviously-false position.

But note the "evidence available" line. That means we do need to get proper investigations (and some honest reporting of the results) if wierd shit shows up. Currently I'm not sure we do get that. And one reason is...

3refs: "This stuff just facinates me! Spirituallity, Quantum Physics, ET's!" All three of these are valid things to investigate, sure. But this is precisely the problem that many sceptics hit with UFO fans - it's very common that UFOs are part of an "alternative" view that groups UFOs with spirituality and other semi-religious beliefs. For anyone interested in evidence-based stuff (ie. the rest of the world), this is so clearly a bogus situation that you'll basically be written off (rightly) as a nutter. And people doing this have basically corrupted UFO study for everyone else, which is why most people (not unreasonably) consider anyone interested in UFOs to be a loony until proven otherwise. Yes, this is a sweeping generalisation, but sadly it's based on a certain amount of reality.

Graham.