Subj: Re: The Pegasi "hit" and Anon affair. Date: 98-10-29 15:21:57 EST From: n6tx@setileague.org (Dr. H. Paul Shuch) To: bcornet@monmouth.com, phikent@aol.com (Kent Steadman) CC: rcf@setileague.org You may by now have seen claims in the press on 28 October 1998, about an intellegently generated signal from the vicinity of the nearby binary star system EQ Peg. This SETI "hit" was allegedly received by an amateur in England. The nonprofit, membership-supported SETI League has been analyzing this claim since October 23rd. None of our 63 active observing stations around the world has been able to confirm it. The signals were reported anonymously in a message hacked into a *closed* signal verification email list. Subsequently, the hacker went to BBC, which broke the story. The perpetrator asserts that he/she is NOT a SETI League member, which is scant consolation to us. The "signal" has been thoroughly discredited by a host of radio astronomers, amateur and professional, who have analyzed the images posted to the Internet. The person who reported the alleged signals has violated every principle of responsible science. He has NOT followed the carefully crafted SETI League signal detection protocols to which all of our participating stations are signatory (see . He has NOT adhered to international policies regarding signal verification (see ). He has NOT identified himself, and NOT answered private emails from either our Executive Director or our volunteer Regional Coordinator in England, making any meaningful follow-up impossible. And he has NOT waited for backup analysis before announcing his "find" to the press. If this is not a blatant hoax, it is the worst kind of irresponsible science (the kind which gives The SETI League, and all credible scientific endeavours, a bad name). Anonymity and scientific integrety are mutually exclusive. A responsible scientist, amateur or professional, owns his mistakes as well as his accomplishments. One of the responsibilities of scientific organizations like The SETI League is to help the media make that distinction. ----------------------------------------------------------------- H. Paul Shuch, Ph.D. Executive Director, The SETI League, Inc. 433 Liberty Street, PO Box 555, Little Ferry NJ 07643 USA voice (201) 641-1770; fax (201) 641-1771; URL http://www.setileague.org/ email work: n6tx@setileague.org; home: drseti@usa.net