In infinite wisdom Andrew Nowicki answered:

Louis Scheffer wrote:
 

Definitely not a 'SETI is futile' article, even though the author
does not expect it to succeed.

Read the paper, not its web summary.

Do you expect SETI to succeed?

I assume that "succeed" in this context means to detect
signs of ET civilizations, but maybe you could tell me
what success would be to you. The phrase 'the operation
was a success but the patient died' comes to mind for
some reason. Seems that doctors have a different definition
for the success of an operation than patients (and their
families) do. Perhaps SETI insiders do as well.

Rich