isn't there a page that I can go to that explains what the credits are for and answer questions for newbies? I have been looking for answers trying to understand this all but just go around in circles.

thanks in advance!!

m.r.dilligaf

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It's Never Too Late To Seek Another Path...

isn't there a page that I can go to that explains what the credits are for and answer questions for newbies? I have been looking for answers trying to understand this all but just go around in circles.

thanks in advance!!

m.r.dilligaf

http://boinc-doc.net/index.php5
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_help_desk.php

If all else Fails just ask the question!

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isn't there a page that I can go to that explains what the credits are for and answer questions for newbies?

You can also try the new Wiki docs.
And welcome to Boinc, M.R.Dilligaf!

isn't there a page that I can go to that explains what the credits are for and answer questions for newbies?

They are sort of an incentive to keep crunching. The more of them you have, the more you have to get more.

Another way to get to the "Questions and answers" is to click on the big blue "Message boards" at the top or bottom of this page then click the "Questions/problems".

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isn't there a page that I can go to that explains what the credits are for and answer questions for newbies? I have been looking for answers trying to understand this all but just go around in circles.

thanks in advance!!

m.r.dilligaf

Uhh, what's wrong with this picture? A noob giving help to other noobs? Hmmmm.... Oh, and I wonder if anyone here knows what your handle means.... I do....

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CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr - L L & P _\\//
Winders 11 OS? "What a piece of junk!" - L. Skywalker
"Logic is the cement of our civilization with which we ascend from chaos using reason as our guide." - T'Plana-hath

Ah yes, that acronym... ;)

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Ah yes, that acronym... ;)

And for anyone who can't figure it out, here's a decent Acronym Finder.


That said.... one thing that I sort of despise these days is the "Idiot's Guide" mentality. Some things are not easily explained but that series of books would have you believe otherwise.

Isn't SETI an academic venture? Why wouldn't anyone participating expect, if not demand a certain level of challenge in finding, reading and comprehending the information about the software and the project?

ay yi yi

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doesn't anyone remember what you felt like when you got started here? I'm here because I really want to prove that we can't be alone. I am not good with computers or the jargin that goes along with them, I just want to try to understand what I'm doing a little more so I can figure out if just staring at the stars like I've done for 35+ years is better or not. My handle has nothing to do with why I'm here or what I'm doing. I just wanted to find a community I could join and share a common cause. Is that what this is?

the knick name came from the a very trying time in the airforce and though it means one thing to most people, it means something very different to me.

dilli

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It's Never Too Late To Seek Another Path...

doesn't anyone remember what you felt like when you got started here? ....

dilli

Hi Dilli

Credits are what they pay you for doing the work, you cannot spend them or anything. Most people use them to see how well they are doing in the community. In the old days on Seti Classic you got one 'old credit' per unit done, no matter of how big or small. And the system was open to cheating.

So Boinc was born, with this new credit system, which uses the benchmark figure (oft discussed subject, because its usually way out) and the time taken to complete the unit. The projects that run under the Boinc Banner are meant to use a similar ways to measure and grant credit and therefore 25 credits in one project is the same as 25 credits in another project.

Andy

doesn't anyone remember what you felt like when you got started here? I'm here because I really want to prove that we can't be alone. I am not good with computers or the jargin that goes along with them, I just want to try to understand what I'm doing a little more so I can figure out if just staring at the stars like I've done for 35+ years is better or not.

Actually, though I started BOINC when it was still in Beta I remember long discusisons on the message boards where JKeck, JM VII, Heffed, Ingleside, and thousands of others (ok, maybe only a hundred or so ...) tried to explain things to me ... if you look in my sites you will see MANY references to people that contributed ... though there are many explicit tags ... far too often the contributers are not mentioned ... mostly due to poor work on my part and the rush ... so, the old site which is slowly being canabilized is now in Wiki format.

Because information is useless unless shared, I have all I can gleam from posts on the board, research I do on my own, thoughts that others drop me an e-mail on ... ramblings of my diseased mind ... but, written with the intent, always with the intent that the person reading is just like you. A hobbiest who is interested but may not know the fine details. So, each and every use of a specialized word or phrase is linked to its glossary definition. As I learn more, those definitions are refined, added to, updated, filded,spindled and mutilated ... if you write to say that word "grumbleflex"'s definition is gibberish, well, I try to fix that ...

If you ask around, the last time that I did not make a suggested change was, well, I won't go there ... but if you look hard enough you can still find the fallout to that discussion ... the point being, the material is there. ready for your use ... but all i can do is to write it and make it available. If you look in the FAQ, you will see some (BOINC and SETI@Home FAQs) questions that do not have answers, only a number, well, that is the number of hits those questions got over a 6 month period. Most are below 25, some are in single digits (if I even left those in) and we are still haveing a discussion on keeping those in there at all ...

About a month ago as I was in the depths of depressive episode (which I am still trying to pull out of) I was ready to turn off the lights because of the dismal hit rates. Dismal I say, because, for many of those Items I know it was ME looking at the active site ... but, I was talked out of it by others ... so, the information is there ... I add to EVERY day just about ... even week ends ... but I cannot make you read it ...

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but I cannot make you read it ...

Offer them money, girls or other bribes. ;)

Maybe trying to get on top in a Google search will help?

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When I look for it, it is always on top ... so, maybe, they are not even googling? I know when I do searches for BOINC terms, my pages usually show up in the list along with many message boards.

No, I have only to think that ... no ... lets not go there ... I will start to consider wasting my time again ... so... lets not go there ...

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When I look for it, it is always on top ... so, maybe, they are not even googling? I know when I do searches for BOINC terms, my pages usually show up in the list along with many message boards.

No, I have only to think that ... no ... lets not go there ... I will start to consider wasting my time again ... so... lets not go there ...

Paul, even if one person looks at the WIKI, it makes it all worth the effort, you and a few others (which you have named) have helped this cranky, grump to mellow out a small bit, this is due in no small part to your devotion to BOINC and the community, you rule Chief, so keep on keeping on........

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Semper Eadem
So long Paul, it has been a hell of a ride.

Park your ego's, fire up the computers, Science YES, Credits No.

Paul, even if one person looks at the WIKI, it makes it all worth the effort, you and a few others (which you have named) have helped this cranky, grump to mellow out a small bit, this is due in no small part to your devotion to BOINC and the community, you rule Chief, so keep on keeping on........

So I tell myself ... :)

The funny thing about depression ... it does not always respond to logic ...

Anyway, JKeck (good ol' John) pointed to some number pages and he concludes ... let me see:

Quoting one of the pages..
===============
Site statistics

There are 2526 total pages in the database. This includes "talk" pages, pages about BOINCWiki, minimal "stub" pages, redirects, and others that probably don't qualify as content pages. Excluding those, there are 970 pages that are probably legitimate content pages.

There have been a total of 71794 page views, and 5106 page edits since the wiki was setup. That comes to 2.02 average edits per page, and 14.06 views per edit.
User statistics

There are 17 registered users. 2 of these are administrators
=================
and
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Main_Page (13697 views)
BOINC_FAQ (2196 views)
BOINC_Application_Owner's_Manual (1991 views)
BOINC_Messages (1804 views)
SETI@Home_Project (1454 views)
The_Current_List_of_Alpha_Test/Beta_Test_Projects (1096 views)
BOINC_Development (776 views)
BOINC_Powered_Project (703 views)
Climateprediction.net (650 views)
BOINC_Client_Software (617 views)
Participating_in_BOINC_Powered_Projects (584 views)
Einstein@Home (571 views)
BOINC_Manager (558 views)
BOINC_Daemon (480 views)
BOINC_FAQ:_Introduction_To_BOINC (460 views)
Predictor@Home_Project (460 views)
Features_of_the_BOINC_System (439 views)
Work_Scheduler (401 views)
How_to_decide_on_Resource_Share (391 views)
BOINC_Acronyms (354 views)
NVidia_OpenGL_Driver_Driver_components_mis-match._Exit_is_the_only_option (338 views)
LHC@Home (331 views)
Credit (328 views)
Troubleshooting_Network_Problems (325 views)
BOINC_Web_Site_Owner's_Manual (321 views)
How_SETI@Home_Works (315 views)
The_List_of_Completed_Projects (311 views)
BOINC_Screensaver_Set-Up (278 views)
Climateprediction_FAQ (276 views)
Project_Participant (265 views)
Compiling_BOINC_Software (263 views)
Attach_to_a_Project (251 views)
Science_Application (242 views)
Work_Unit (234 views)
Preference (231 views)
Computer_is_overcommitted (225 views)
A_List_of_Error_Code_Numbers (213 views)
Recent_Average_Credit (196 views)
Getting_started_with_climateprediction (196 views)
Can't_resolve_hostname_'(host-name)'_host_not_found (189 views)
Getting_Started (187 views)
Papers_on_the_BOINC_System (174 views)
Remote_Hosts_File (174 views)
Benchmark_Test (172 views)
Sulphur_Cycle (165 views)
BOINC_FAQ:_Updates_to_the_BOINC_Software (158 views)
Claimed_Credit (156 views)
What's_different_about_Climateprediction_compared_to_other_projects (153 views)
How-To_Test_Machine_Stability (151 views)
BOINC_System (150 views)
----------------

Maybe ... he has a point ... :)

Of course, it could just be the novelty too ... though I do admit that I had not realized that we have TRIPPLED the number of pages! Heck, even if you use the lower number, I had only 700 (711 I think to be precise) pages in the old site. And I am adding about 3-10 pages a day still (many are move overs ... I still have about 70 pages in the the Web site Owner's Manual to move over and update ...

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doesn't anyone remember what you felt like when you got started here? [...] I just wanted to find a community I could join and share a common cause. Is that what this is?

I remember what it was to be a newcomer, so just ask away if you have any questions! Don't be discouraged by anyone who may tell you otherwise. Myself, I try to read the docs if I have a question, but many times I have to ask anyway (mostly because of my inadequate search skills, I'm sure). Usually I get a straight and polite answer, although sometimes I get a reply more sour than vinegar. But most people here are friendly and helpful! I also try to help where I can. :)

ok, thanks to those who really are helpful!

even after the last posting, I have another question...

Does anyone know why my last 2 projects have been just sitting there not doing anything but saying ready to report? I have been idle now for more than 2 days and have no idea if there is something I can do about it. The messages part of the BOINC manager just keeps asking for more work but then defers communication.

This thing will be soooo cool if I can ever get it to work right.

dilli

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It's Never Too Late To Seek Another Path...

Just have patience MR. We're just past a complete power outage in the Seti Lab. It takes time to get through all the thousands of computers which all want to upload and download new work, both on Boinc/Seti and Seti Classic.

They can't all get their stuff done at the same time, so things may be precarious for another couple of days. Yet on the other hand, Boinc was made for more projects than Seti only. So if you want to consider running another project as a backup, then check here for options.

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ok, thanks to those who really are helpful!

even after the last posting, I have another question...

Does anyone know why my last 2 projects have been just sitting there not doing anything but saying ready to report? I have been idle now for more than 2 days and have no idea if there is something I can do about it. The messages part of the BOINC manager just keeps asking for more work but then defers communication.

This thing will be soooo cool if I can ever get it to work right.

dilli

I would suggest that anyone with an idle CPU because of a server outage at a project join at least two more BOINC projects.

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BOINC WIKI

Ya, I tried to attatch to the einstein project but when I put the website and code in it flashed for a second and then didn't show up, will try it again tomorrow. I read about the outage, thought that was the problem, thanks! Will try to read more b4 asking d.a. questions.

dilli

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It's Never Too Late To Seek Another Path...

Dilligaf,

There are no d.a. questions around here (just maybe lots of d.a comments). The level of install and attach help that comes with BOINC when you down load it is so non existent and finding how to find that info is so difficult that sometimes it is a wonder that the average user is ever able to get attached and running.

Maybe a link to a standard half page summary of steps is required on the download and/or account creation pages of each project.

Live long and crunch.

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Paul
(S@H1 8888)
And proud of it!