home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- From: Michael.Corbin@p0.f428.n104.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Michael Corbin)
- Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors
- Subject: New Classification and Rating System
- Message-ID: <344.2B8B664B@paranet.FIDONET.ORG>
- Date: 24 Feb 93 11:09:04 GMT
- Sender: ufgate@paranet.FIDONET.ORG (newsout1.26)
- Organization: FidoNet node 1:104/428.0 - <ParaNet(sm) , Arvada CO
- Lines: 146
-
-
- VALLEE/MICAP/PARANET CLASSIFICATION AND RATING SYSTEM
-
- In order to encompass the full range of phenomena one finds in
- the modern literature, it is important to acknowledge that UFOs
- are related in significant ways to other anomalies. It is the
- rule, rather than the exception, to find significant UFO
- sightings preceded or followed by other anomalies, notably the
- poltergeist variety. The following classification scheme,
- created by Dr. Jacques Vallee, is being adopted by ParaNet and
- MICAP.
-
- AN Rating - ANOMALY - These do not specifically deal with UFO
- Reports:
-
- AN1 - are anomalies that do not have lasting physical effects,
- such as amorphous lights or unexplained explosions.
-
- AN2 - are anomalies with lasting physical effects, such as some
- poltergeist phenomena, apports (materialized objects), and areas
- of flattened grass.
-
- AN3 - are anomalies with associated entities. This class could
- include reports of ghosts, yetis, and other instances of
- cryptozoology as well as elves and spirits.
-
- AN4 - are those anomalous reports in which witnesses experienced
- personal interaction with entities in the reality of the entities
- themselves. They include near-death experiences, religious
- miracles and visions, and many cases of out-of-body experiences.
-
- AN5 - are those anomalous reports of injuries or deaths, such as
- spontaneous combustion or unexplained wounds. Also, cases of
- permanent healing often described in the literature of the
- paranormal.
-
- MA Rating - MANEUVER - are best classified according to the
- apparent behavior of the object rather than the circumstances
- independent of it, such as daylight or night, or radar rather
- than visual observation:
-
- MA1 - gathers those UFO observations that involve an object with
- a discontinuous trajectory (such as drop, a maneuver, or a loop).
-
- MA2 - includes those cases that give rise to physical effects in
- addition to a discontinuous trajectory.
-
- MA3 - contains the cases of objects with discontinuous
- trajectories when beings are observed on board. Some of the
- "airship" cases of the late nineteenth century were in this
- category, as well as the famous 1959 sighting by Father Gill of
- New Guinea.
-
- MA4 - covers instances of maneuvers accompanied by a sense of
- transformation of reality for the percipient.
-
- MA5 - is a maneuver as a result of which the witnesses suffer
- permanent injury or death.
-
- FB Rating - FLY-BY:
-
- FB1 - is a simple sighting of a UFO "flying by" in the sky, the
- category most frequently reported.
-
- FB2 - is a flyby accompanied by physical evidence.
-
- FB3 - is a flyby of an object accompanied by the observation of
- beings on board. Although rare, this type of observation is
- reported occasionally.
-
- FB4 - is a flyby where the witness experienced a transformation
- of his or her reality into the object or its occupants.
-
- FB5 - would be a flyby as a result of which the witnesses would
- suffer permanent injuries, as in the celebrated Cash-Landrum case
- in Texas, which can be found in the literature. In that case,
- two women and a boy were hurt by the effects of a bright object
- that flew above them without landing or stopping.
-
- CE Rating - CLOSE ENCOUNTERS:
-
- CE1 - is a report where the object comes within 500 feet of the
- observer, but no interaction is involved with the observer or the
- environment.
-
- CE2 - is a report similar to CE1, however it leaves a physical
- record of its visit in the form of landing traces.
-
- CE3 - is a report where one or more animated entities are present
- in proximity to an UFO. The term "animate" is not used to allow
- for the possibility of robots or something other than "flesh and
- blood."
-
- CE4 - is a report that encompasses the "abduction" report, where
- the witnesses report extensive contact and physical interaction
- with the entities inside their craft.
-
- CE5 - is a report that involves CE4, with additional permanent
- physiological injuries, effects or subsequent death.
-
- THE SVP CREDIBILITY RATING
-
- NO classification system is complete without a way of assigning
- credibility or "weight" to an observation. Using a three digit
- code to indicate the weight of a UFO case, it can be determined
- how credible the report is using source reliability, site visit
- and possible explanations.
-
- first digit: source reliability (S):
-
- 0 Unknown source or unreliable source
- 1 Report attributed to a known source of uncalibrated
- reliability
- 2 Reliable source, secondhand
- 3 Reliable source, firsthand
- 4 Firsthand personal interview with the witness by a source of
- proven reliability
-
- second digit: site visit (V):
-
- 0 No site visit, or answer unknown
- 1 Site visit by a casual person not familiar with such phenomena
- 2 Site visit by persons familiar with such phenomena
- 3 Site visit by a reliable investigator with some experience
- 4 Site visit by a skilled analyst
-
- third digit: possible explanations (P):
-
- 0 Data consistent with one or more natural causes
- 1 Natural explanation requires only slight modification of the
- data
- 2 Natural explanation requires gross alteration of one parameter
- 3 Natural explanation requires gross alteration of several
- parameters
- 4 No natural explanation possible, given the evidence
-
- A rating of 222 or better (meaning that each of the three digits
- is two or higher), indicates the events reported through a
- reliable source in which a site visit has been made and where a
- natural explanation would require the gross alteration of at
- least one parameter.
-
- --
- Michael Corbin - via ParaNet node 1:104/422
- UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name
- INTERNET: Michael.Corbin@p0.f428.n104.z1.FIDONET.ORG
-
-