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It has been widely acknowledged that self-replicating space-probes (SRPs)could explore the galaxy very quickly relative to the age of the galaxy. Anobvious implication is that SRPs produced by extraterrestrial civilizationsshould have arrived in our solar system millions of years ago, and furthermore,that new probes from an ever-arising supply of civilizations ought to bearriving on a constant basis. The lack of observations of such probes underliesa frequently cited variation of the Fermi Paradox. We believe that apredilection for ETI-optimistic theories has deterred consideration ofincompatible theories. Notably, SRPs have virtually disappeared from theliterature. In this paper, we consider the most common arguments against SRPsand find those arguments lacking. By extension, we find recent models ofgalactic exploration which explicitly exclude SRPs to be unfairly handicappedand unlikely to represent natural scenarios.  We also consider several other models that seek to explain the Fermi Paradox,most notably percolation theory and two societal-collapse theories. In theformer case, we find that it imposes unnatural assumptions which likely renderit unrealistic. In the latter case, we present a new theory of interstellartransportation bandwidth which calls into question the validity ofsocietal-collapse theories.  Finally, we offer our thoughts on how to design future SETI programs whichtake the conclusions of this paper into account to maximize the chance ofdetection.

The Fermi Paradox, Self-Replicating Probes, and the Interstellar Transportation Bandwidth