UFOs are Real! is an irritating misnomer.

Of course UFOs are real. UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object! Heck, a lot of the time when i look out the window i see something flying that i can't identify. Thus, to me, it is a UFO. UFO does not mean alien. It means there is something that you don't know what it is and it is in the air. So stop saying UFOs aren't real!

This is an open message to all "UFOlogists", skeptics, and believers everywhere. Spread the word.

I too have found this misnomer irritating... eg. thread title from a while back "did i see a ufo?? help me out here."

Preach it Solasis!

I find that very frustrating also.

hehe, i'm glad you guys agree. This place has really changed since the first time i came here... which was a long, long time ago. I would've gotten flamed way back then for what i just said. I don't even remember what my screenname was... Or maybe it was just a bad week that i gave it a chance. i dunno. i'm rambling. tired. better go write. thanks for agreeing.

Hello

The fact is that, for the majority of people and media, the word "ufo" means "extraterrestrial" object (not from earth). And i tend to agree with that.

"Unidentified Flying Object" means that the object has failed to match any conventional explanation, due to its shape or behavior, and keep remaining unexplainable for a earth based object.

If you see something in the air that you can't identify, i don't call this a ufo, but just an object you can't identify at this precise moment. If this object cannot be identified after further analysis (shape, behavior), it becomes a "ufo".

Anyway, whatever you think, this is just a trick of words, and there is nothing to be annoyed about.

Originally posted by Musclor

Anyway, whatever you think, this is just a trick of words, and there is nothing to be annoyed about.

It becomes very annoying when no one defines what they are talking about as you said UFO can mean ET to some people and Unidentified to others.

So If I am talking Un-ID'd and you are talking ET we can both be saying the same things and meaning something totally different. This becomes annoying.

It is always helpful to define the subject so that all parties can agree about the subject being discussed.

For instance if we are discussing Construction techniques and we are talking about metals, we are talking about Tin, Copper , Steel, Iron, etc,etc,..

And if we are talking about astronomy and we are talking about "metals" we might be talking about Helium or Oxygen , or Argon , or Carbon.

This is why defining the subject or terms becomes very important.

[edit on 31-12-2005 by lost_shaman]

The truth is that there are indeed objects flying in our airspace which niether science nore our government can explain.

UFOs exist and if anyone says otherwise, they be as blind as a bat with no head.

Yup, All types of things could be a UFO.




Simply a Bird could be considered a UFO if you didnt get a good look at it.


external image

Planes in the distance




Or this thing.


(mod edit to resize large image)

[edit on 31-12-2005 by pantha]

Glad I'm not the only one...

That's always sort of bothered me, and I've made the same point to people. If you see something flying, and you can't identify it, then, legitimately, it's a UFO.

I actually got into an argument with a coworker about that once. We were standing outside, and a jet was flying over. All we could see was a vapor trail with a speck at the front of it. I pointed at it and said, "Look-- a UFO."
He said, "Nah-- you're crazy. That's just a jet."
I asked, "Can you identify it?" and, when he shook his head, said, "then it's a UFO."
"But it's not a UFO!" he insisted.
"Is it unidentified?"
He nodded.
"Is it flying?"
Grimacing, he nodded.
"Then it's a UFO."
"But... but......"

And so on.


Of course, words don't have to mean exactly what they seem to mean, and over time many words have come to mean something entirely different from what an analysis of them might lead one to think they should mean. It's even possible, in the midst of that process, for two different people to treat words as if they mean two different things, and for both people to be, at least to some degree, correct.

Language is a slippery thing...

I agree. When folks ask me if i believe in UFOs, I say, "Sure, I see them all the time." Then I explain that I'm not really very informed about what flys.

thats true. but we call alien craft for UFO thats alway ben like that. but yout right, so if see an alien ship it is not a UFO it is an IFO. because you can identify it as an Alien craft

Originally posted by HDD09
thats true. but we call alien craft for UFO thats alway ben like that. but yout right, so if see an alien ship it is not a UFO it is an IFO. because you can identify it as an Alien craft

(took me a few seconds to figure out exactly what this all means)

Yeah, I had completely forgotten that line of reasoning; if it's definitely a spaceship, it's no longer a UFO.

And, does it stop being a UFO when it stops flying? If it lands, is it now a ULO (Unidentified Landed Object)?