Although I run SETI@home whenever I can, I feel the project is
an academic exercise. Even if intelligent life capable of transmitting
signals to us is found, the practical use of this knowledge is very limited.
A conversation could take thousands of years to orchestrate, and the
information traded in such an exchange would be of limited use to either
species.

Some have stated verifying the existence of extraterrestrial life could have globally profound
effects. I find this point to be lacking on two parts:

 

     1) Most individuals who have an interest in this research already

        point to the Drake equation as strong support for the existence

        hypothesis, and have already accepted the idea of the presence

        of extraterrestrial life.



     2) Other individuals will be more concerned with the practical

        application of the knowledge than the knowledge

itself.

As an individual who already accepts the possibility of the presence
of other life in the universe, the confirmation of this concept would be
an event I, personally, would be happy to see, but doubt I would feel
much more than a mild sense of closure on the subject. As the technical
hurdles involved with meaningful communication came to light, most people
would soon incorporate the existence of other life in the universe into
their everyday paradigm, and, in my opinion, return to concentrating on more terrestrial matters.

This is not to say the search is of no use - but in light of
decreasing funding for space research, I am forced to
wonder
if we have the resources to spare on endeavors such as SETI.

Still, should SETI eventually become successful, the information gathered
could feisibly push world governments toward a more supportive role in space
science. This combined with the low cost to support SETI@home
will keep me involved for years to come.