In the post that you had replied to I was referencing how pictueres aren't good enough [for skeptics] and implied moving goalposts. I gave an example of my phone which was flagship for it's time a few years ago and having a shit time photographing something like the moon in regards to complaints about potato quality "evidence" and the "we live in an age of smartphones, live stream, etc" argument about not having photo evidence. The flip side though is when there are good pictures taken then the argument becomes "it's fake" and that nothing "in terms of pictures" will ever be good enough.
I see. Thank you for clarifying.
I disagree with your premise.
I gave an example of my phone which was flagship for it's time a few years ago and having a shit time photographing something like the moon in regards to complaints about potato quality "evidence" and the "we live in an age of smartphones, live stream, etc" argument about not having photo evidence.
Yes, your "flagship" phone has a hard time taking pics of the moon because it's so bright relative to the rest of the environment. Even $1000 professional cameras have a hard time if the camera operator doesn't know what he or she is doing. Auto modes are not very helpful for moon photos. The point of the "we live in the age of smartphones" argument is thus - you would agree that in the 1970s, 80s, 90s, etc there were very little ways to record photo or video evidence of aliens, and therefore most evidence consisted of eyewitness testimony, yes? Currently, in 2023, we have an unprecedented amount of cameras in our society ranging from personal phones to dashcams, to security cameras, and many other recording devices. Compared to the late 20th century, we have way more capacity to both record video evidence and record higher quality video evidence too.
Thus, I ask you - is the level of claims of aliens the same now, compared to the 1980s? Is the level of photo and video evidence the same now, compared to the 1980s? From what I can tell, we have the same amount of claims about aliens now, perhaps even more. The level of photo/video evidence has not also increased in kind. Why is that?
The flip side though is when there are good pictures taken then the argument becomes "it's fake" and that nothing "in terms of pictures" will ever be good enough.
You are extrapolating a hypothetical "skeptic" that is not operating on the principles of skepticism, assuming the photo evidence is actually good enough. You are creating a strawman argument by imagining an eternally obtuse person who will never accept any form of evidence that is not good. You cannot extrapolate that person from current skeptics, because at this moment in time, there is not definitive proof of aliens, so all skeptics who say, "there is no definitive proof of aliens", is correct.
Let me put it another way - do you consider people who think the Earth is flat as "skeptics"? They are
skeptical, for sure, but they are not "skeptics". They ignore all evidence to the contrary and blindly stick to their way of thinking. This is not following the principles of skepticism. They can be shown a perfectly good picture of the planet Earth, yet say "it's fake" all day long, just like your imagined future aliens skeptic. This is not how critical thinking works.
If the actual evidence is strong enough, most skeptics who are following principles of skepticism will accept it.