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Down Time III (May 03 2007)
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Pappa Send message Joined: 9 Jan 00 Posts: 2562 Credit: 12,301,681 RAC: 0 |
Blurf I understand with the limited information everyone has, it is tough... It was tougher finding something that Donate Hardware II could actually sink its teeth into... That was what brought us to this point, that thread made things happen that Seti did not have money for hardware! They did not have Donations that could cover the hardware/operations. Everyone efforts that help to get Bruno working has solved a lot of issues and more. They are still not out of the woods yet. From my stand point, there was a small success inrespective of things that annoy You, I or others. If I were to state One Goal, It would be to get Seti where these hardware issues are not an issue! Now how to get there... The stupid "middleman" slot has afforded me information... I would love that there were more people that had more "private information" working on the problem! If More People, More Ideas, More People, Better Communications! Then things could move ahead "faster and in a more postive direction." Lest we forget, Seti is the Founder and Poster Child for Distributed Computing! Or for how can you do something with a limited budget and make it work... Seti has never been rich... New Projects that are well funded have grown from what everyone here has helped create! Even Projects that have Your Free computer time working for Profit Organizations... We will call it progress, on everones efforts... All said, I believe You and I have a misunderstanding that You and I need to resolve... I open to clearing that misunderstanding, yes it has been happening for a long time... Regards Pappa Pappa-- Please consider a Donation to the Seti Project. |
Philadelphia Send message Joined: 12 Feb 07 Posts: 1590 Credit: 399,688 RAC: 0 |
So, with the *known* difficulties in receiving uploads, will the due dates for existing work be push back?? So far the only response to this I've seen is that since uploads don't fail 100% (probably closer to 90%),there is no reason to push out the due dates. Frankly, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me and it also seems, that given there is little to do on the database server side until some new hardware shows up, that performing the task of artificially pushing out due dates by a week or more would be an action of 'good will' on the project admin side of things. This one is clearly off subject, lol, hey BarryAZ, a fellow Arizonan, Mesa here. |
Eric Korpela Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 1382 Credit: 54,506,847 RAC: 60 |
That's a good question.... I know that each check we receive costs us a few minutes of Kevin's time. You can ask Kevin what his salary is, but it's not a financial burden for him to spend a few minutes. I don't know how anonymous cash is handled. Cash received with any identifying information needs to be properly tracked and acknowledged. Since I don't open the envelopes myself, I don't know how often we receive anonymous cash, if ever. It certainly needs to be entered and tracked but beyond that IDK. I would guess that it gets dealt with in one lump sum, if more than one anonymous cash donation arrives in a batch. @SETIEric@qoto.org (Mastodon) |
Demiurg Send message Joined: 2 Jul 02 Posts: 883 Credit: 28,286 RAC: 0 |
[...snip] Sorry, should have written Europe, Canada and the US is a bit closer in many ways. So to the best of my knowledge no european citizen has any need of that letter. Oh, sorry, that should have said any EU citizen. We haven't assimilated everything here yet. Carl It is SEXY to DONATE! Skype = demiurg2 |
Demiurg Send message Joined: 2 Jul 02 Posts: 883 Credit: 28,286 RAC: 0 |
Kevin On this I have to disagree. Yes, team leaders do have a lot of knowledge and information. But... There are also a lot of individuals and even companies not team-affiliated with more knowledge and more resources than most teams. And with those omited you loose out on a lot that would be beneficial to Seti so I would advice against it. Because some things will be posted on that closed list that will never get an answer, or will get an answer much later in the end than if it was known to genpop. And I also fail to see the need. We are not that many who are active on here, so there should be no need for it. We are actually not drowning in info here. My five öre! Carl It is SEXY to DONATE! Skype = demiurg2 |
kevint Send message Joined: 17 May 99 Posts: 414 Credit: 11,680,240 RAC: 0 |
I think you must have missed the point of my comment. Of course if someone had an "official title" granted to them by the SETI Staff as "gatekeeper" then I might consider it. |
Misfit Send message Joined: 21 Jun 01 Posts: 21804 Credit: 2,815,091 RAC: 0 |
We haven't assimilated everything here yet. Leave that to me. me@rescam.org |
Demiurg Send message Joined: 2 Jul 02 Posts: 883 Credit: 28,286 RAC: 0 |
We haven't assimilated everything here yet. Actually you have been assimilated by the swedes. When Brannon was in sweden he was so horrified of our automaton behaviour that he imagined how the world would be if we spread and took over that he invented the Borg. He named them after the swedish tennisplayer Björn Borg who back in the seventies was his idol. More or less Borg assimilated the tennis courts. Resistance is futile, assimilation is drawing near. It is SEXY to DONATE! Skype = demiurg2 |
Justin M. Morford Send message Joined: 23 Sep 99 Posts: 36 Credit: 2,539,975 RAC: 0 |
I know not everyone has the ability to donate for various reasons, but with 600,000+ users it's hard to not imagine what would be possible if everyone donated just $1 Wow! I didn't mean to start such a heated debate. I was simply kinda thinking out loud about the possibilities of what could happen if every user (600,00+) could/would donate just $1 (reread my quote above). I wasn't saying or implying that everyone could/should donate. I wasn't aware of the letter and such that they send you for tax purposes, and now understand the reason for the minimum donation. I just got done submitting my donation. Looked at the donation history page afterwards and see that almost as much money has been donated in May (and it's only the 6th) as all of April. Thanks to everyone that has donated (in the past and recently) and lets keep it up. To those that have said they spent several hundered or more dollars on a new computer just to run SETI, what's another $10-25 to help keep the project alive? You obviously had spare money to spend, why not help keep the project going? That said, even if donating money/computer time is on topic in a thread about the servers being down, this is the Technical News forum. We should move the donation discussion elsewhere and keep this forum for what it is. [ontopic] Just like to say thanks again to Matt and everyone at UCB for their hard work and dedication to keeping the project going, and a big thanks to SUN for coming through with a replacement server. [/ontopic] Justin |
Demiurg Send message Joined: 2 Jul 02 Posts: 883 Credit: 28,286 RAC: 0 |
I totally agree, ten or twentyfive dollars is worth it just to keap our hobby alive:-) Wow! I didn't mean to start such a heated debate. I was simply kinda thinking out loud about the possibilities of what could happen if every user (600,00+) could/would donate just $1. I wasn't aware of the letter and such that they send you for tax purposes, and now understand the reason for the minimum donation. I just got done submitting my donation. Just looked at the donation history page and see that almost as much money has been donated in May (and it's only the 6th) as all of April. Thanks to everyone that has donated (in the past and recently) and lets keep it up. It is SEXY to DONATE! Skype = demiurg2 |
Baz Send message Joined: 15 Feb 07 Posts: 27 Credit: 50,586 RAC: 0 |
[quote]I totally agree, ten or twentyfive dollars is worth it just to keap our hobby alive:-) Like Justin, just like to say thanks again to Matt and everyone at UCB for their hard work and dedication to keeping the project going, and a big thanks to SUN for coming through with a replacement server. However, if we could have a link started on what and what isn't a donation we could really have a good time disputing the point. My weekly income is £82 (UK) before I pay rent and any othe bills. Suggested as a minimum of $10 (to cover costs and still have something left to spend), would be about 8% of my income. For many here that it would seem, is like 0.08% or even less of their wages. I volunteer my services and equipment. The time and use of that equipment is then a donation. When SETI, which was I believe the first company to farm out work to volunteers started, all they wanted was those volunteers. Donations were secondary. If growing changes the criteria, then surely those in power should relook at what it actually is they are after. In many places around the message boards it is stated that this is an (addictive) hobby. How much and how many professional paid members were there in those days. It would seem as computers get bigger(in terms of crunching power) and faster then we need more manpower on the ground to work out what is actually in that data. Another point to raise here is that in 1999 we were told we were helping in the search for that radio signal out there from Uncle/Aunty E.T. yet in the Cafe forums we are told that still isn't what is being studied. I am getting more and more confused. Could someone please tell me what we are crunching for? Baz P.S. You may move this message into a new Link if it is deemed beneficial to keep this as Techy News link. Thank in anticipation Alien Pet Lover |
1mp0£173 Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 8423 Credit: 356,897 RAC: 0 |
Seems we have a link started every time someone mentions money. ... and it's really, really obvious. SETI@Home needs two things: volunteers to donate CPU cycles, and money to collect the results (run servers, buy bandwidth) and do the science. If you don't have the volunteers, you don't need the money, and if you don't have the money, you can't collect work from the volunteers. It is just that simple. People who can donate a little cash should -- people who can't shouldn't. |
SMW Send message Joined: 16 May 99 Posts: 22 Credit: 29,285,238 RAC: 16 |
I for one, want to thank Matt and all the people at SETI who keep us running and SUN for their newest donation. SETI has been about finding what's "OUT THERE" it was in 1999 when I started and still is. We all know every "project" needs time, people and $$$$$$. We also know we do what we can based upon our resources and interest. Let's just keep it going:) "It is better to be hated for what you are then to be loved for what you are not" - Andre Gide (1869-1951) |
Grant (SSSF) Send message Joined: 19 Aug 99 Posts: 13720 Credit: 208,696,464 RAC: 304 |
Another point to raise here is that in 1999 we were told we were helping in the search for that radio signal out there from Uncle/Aunty E.T. yet in the Cafe forums we are told that still isn't what is being studied. Some people also think that the moon landings were a hoax & feel the need to connvince everyone else of it. The data is however being use for more than just checking for possible signs of extra-terrestrial life. I am getting more and more confused. Could someone please tell me what we are crunching for? If you click on the About link at the top of the page you'll find out all about Seti@home. Grant Darwin NT |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
I see that the old argument about donating computer time, resources and paying for electricity to do so IS a donation to Seti. While I agree that it could be called a donation of sorts it is not the kind of donation that Seti truly needs at this time. I've been trying to avoid the donation controversy, mainly because I think it's not really relevant to the topic of this thread, but I couldn't let this one go. First of all, Seti needs ALL sorts of donations, all the time. That includes work time. Second, I did not buy a computer just to run Seti. In fact, I own four computers and only run BOINC on one of them (and that one has been down for a week, and unable to run Seti for months before that (first, I disabled Seti because it coudn't get through a WU in the time alotted; then, since I solved that problem and allowed it to do Seti again, it has been unable to successfully download a WU; meanwhile, it was doing Einstein work)). I bought computers (actually, one of them was given to me) because I needed them for other uses and just did Seti in their spare time. Two of my computers are laptops and I had to stop doing Seti on them because they were overheating. The reason the one computer is down now is because I wanted to reduce the electricity it used and heat it generated, just for one night last week, and it won't turn on again. I would have been turning it off rather often (thus doing less Einstein (and potentially Seti) work) if it weren't for this problem of not starting again. Where I live, electric rates just went up 10% and will do so again for the next three years. My tax return for last year shows an adjusted gross income of $22,480 and I have more than that figure in credit card debt (some of it from buying the three computers). I have just run out of credit and have NO money to spare. NONE. ZIP. NADA. So no, I cannot afford to donate even $10 to Seti. I'm happy that you and your granddaughter can donate, but please don't tell me that I can too. Off my soap box. David David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
Demiurg Send message Joined: 2 Jul 02 Posts: 883 Credit: 28,286 RAC: 0 |
As Ned said. If you can donate, do it - If you cannot donate, don't. For many of us users we can donate, and some of us do. Some cannot afford to donate, but donate computer-time. Both are really cool:-) But there is also a group who can afford to donate some money, but instead takes time to complain about Seti not running as they think it should instead of donating. Not so cool I think. For me this is a fun hobby. The sad thing is that most hobbies cost money, but since I am lucky and can afford to pay a bit for other hobbies I just think that it is okay to pay a bit for this hobby to. So I decided to donate as much to S@H as I buy gym-cloathes and running shoes for. (now it is up to you to decide if I rund in Prada:-) I never intended to sound high and mighty and I am really sorry if I made people feel bad. I do know the feeling of not having any money. If I have made anyone angry I am truly sorry. Carl It is SEXY to DONATE! Skype = demiurg2 |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
As Ned said. If you can donate, do it - If you cannot donate, don't. Carl, If you were responding to me, it wasn't you that set me off, it was Geek@play. Your attitude is just fine. David David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
Demiurg Send message Joined: 2 Jul 02 Posts: 883 Credit: 28,286 RAC: 0 |
As Ned said. If you can donate, do it - If you cannot donate, don't. Good to know:-) Carl It is SEXY to DONATE! Skype = demiurg2 |
Fuzzy Hollynoodles Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 9659 Credit: 251,998 RAC: 0 |
All contributions to this project are welcome. But the harsh facts are that they really need money to run this business for. Their current expenses are very high, and what not many people here realize is that it was only a very few months from closing down due to lack of money. But the latest donation drive plus a cheaper ISP have made it possible for them to move a little farther away from the edge to the abyss of oblivion. "I'm trying to maintain a shred of dignity in this world." - Me |
Demiurg Send message Joined: 2 Jul 02 Posts: 883 Credit: 28,286 RAC: 0 |
All contributions to this project are welcome. Yes I know that it was a close call. It was just before my return here but I got the picture quickly. I so much hope that Seti will get a more permanent funding soon. Bad in a way that they are in the US, it would be fairly easy to get an ESA grant for them otherwise. But for now we have to keap up the donations. It is SEXY to DONATE! Skype = demiurg2 |
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SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.