on 13 february 2015, scientists (including douglas vakoch, david grinspoon, seth shostak, and david brin) at an annual meeting of the american association for the advancement of science, discussed active seti and whether transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the cosmos was a good idea. that same week, a statement was released, signed by many in the seti community, that a "worldwide scientific, political, and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent". on 28 march 2015, a related essay was written by seth shostak and published in "the new york times".