what are the total credits for? how are they used? thank you ...corey

They are used as a measurement of your contribution to the project. Other than that, they are worthless.

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so what's the point then?

so what's the point then?

To measure how much you've contributed to a project. Bragging rights. If those reasons don't mean much to you, then there is no point. It's simply a way to give something back to the user - to create competition, which in turn brings each project more scientific results.

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hi all,

i just started yesterday and have completed the first task sent to me. can somebody explain the credit system? will i get credit for this task? how do i know if credit is pending? is credit based on how many tasks are completed?

thanks!

~sai

hi all,

i just started yesterday and have completed the first task sent to me. can somebody explain the credit system? will i get credit for this task? how do i know if credit is pending? is credit based on how many tasks are completed?

thanks!

~sai

In a very simplified manor, it works like this:

1) A quorum of workunits are created (for SETI@Home currently, that's two workunits) and sent out to users to complete.

2) A user downloads the workunit and their system performs the appropriate calculations and writes the results to a file to be returned to the servers.

3) Once the calculation is completed and returned to the server, the server checks to see if the quorum is met (i.e. if the other user returned their result already). If not, your workunit stays in "pending" status until the other user(s) return their workunits too. If all results have been returned, then go on to step 4.

3A) Each workunit, when created, has been given a deadline. If a user does not complete the workunit within the deadline, a new workunit will be sent out to another user to complete. Because of this, it can take months before a workunit quorum is met.

4) Once the quorum is met, the Validator checks the results from all the computers to see if they match in a "strongly similar" manor. If they are strongly similar, they will be granted the credit they requested (or the lower of the two requested will be granted).

If they are not "strongly similar", another workunit will be sent out to another user to be the "tie breaker".



For more information, please see this BOINC FAQ page and the articles that it links to.

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hi all,

i just started yesterday and have completed the first task sent to me. can somebody explain the credit system? will i get credit for this task? how do i know if credit is pending? is credit based on how many tasks are completed?

thanks!

~sai

Welcome to Boinc distributed computing and specifically to the Seti project. I look at your account and it doen't yet indicate any reported WU (Work Units). The upload and reporting is a two step process.

Here are links to information on the Reporting Process and Credit system from the Unofficial BOINC Wiki. You may also want to take a look at the Mini FAQ for answers to some basic questions. Feel free to post again if you need clarification on this or have any other questions.

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Boinc V7.2.42
Win7 i5 3.33G 4GB, GTX470

hi all,

i just started yesterday and have completed the first task sent to me. can somebody explain the credit system? will i get credit for this task? how do i know if credit is pending? is credit based on how many tasks are completed?

thanks!

~sai

In a very simplified manor, it works like this:

....

Uhh...? Do you mean manner?

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hi all,

i just started yesterday and have completed the first task sent to me. can somebody explain the credit system? will i get credit for this task? how do i know if credit is pending? is credit based on how many tasks are completed?

thanks!

~sai

In a very simplified manor, it works like this:

....

Uhh...? Do you mean manner?

If you must be a stickler, of course I do.

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Hello. Newbie < one week here, so forgive me if this has already been addressed/debated/whatnot, but seeing as there is already a store with shirts and tchotchkes set up, why not a way to trade credits for free stuff or discounts?

Hello. Newbie < one week here, so forgive me if this has already been addressed/debated/whatnot, but seeing as there is already a store with shirts and tchotchkes set up, why not a way to trade credits for free stuff or discounts?

That would require some sort of value for the credits, which would be an accounting nightmare for SETI@Home.

The actual merchandise costs money to manufacture. Your CPU cycles cannot easily translate into money to pay for the manufacturing of those items. SETI@Home would essentially have to pay out of it's own pocket to cover the manufacturing costs of those items in exchange for valueless medium like credits. SETI@Home already operates on a shoe-string budget that barely keeps the servers running, let alone the staff. There is no money to pay for the manufacturing of the items in the store while you trade in valueless credits.

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Hello. Newbie < one week here, so forgive me if this has already been addressed/debated/whatnot, but seeing as there is already a store with shirts and tchotchkes set up, why not a way to trade credits for free stuff or discounts?

That would require some sort of value for the credits, which would be an accounting nightmare for SETI@Home.

IÕve rather arbitarily assigned a value of 0.1¢ ($0.001) to each cobblestone I get here and from S@h Beta, and every few months I Ôpony upÕ for them.

Pretty much the opposite of what Mike suggested, I knowÑbut I thought IÕd mention it, to encourage others to do something similar.

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Hello. Newbie < one week here, so forgive me if this has already been addressed/debated/whatnot, but seeing as there is already a store with shirts and tchotchkes set up, why not a way to trade credits for free stuff or discounts?

That would require some sort of value for the credits, which would be an accounting nightmare for SETI@Home.

IÕve rather arbitarily assigned a value of 0.1¢ ($0.001) to each cobblestone I get here and from S@h Beta, and every few months I Ôpony upÕ for them.

Pretty much the opposite of what Mike suggested, I knowÑbut I thought IÕd mention it, to encourage others to do something similar.

So every few months, you add up your credits (cobblestones) with a value of 0.1 cents and donate to the project?

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So every few months, you add up your credits (cobblestones) with a value of 0.1 cents and donate to the project?

Yes; my first donation was at 1¢ per Classic WU in my total carried over, but figured 1¢/CS would get rather too expensive„kind of defeats the purpose if it becomes a disincentive to crunching! Were I to acquire a lot more computer power, IÍd probably have to reevaluate (unless it was because IÍd made some kind of windfall), but so far itÍs worked out OK. I guess my original premise was that the projectÍs operating costs could be ïamortizedÍ in terms of the expenses associated with each transaction with a client ƒ and moreover itÍs another means of memorializing my stats. ;)

P.S. Wish theyÕd get around to fixing the Unicode here É

So every few months, you add up your credits (cobblestones) with a value of 0.1 cents and donate to the project?

Yes; my first donation was at 1¢ per Classic WU in my total carried over, but figured 1¢/CS would get rather too expensive„kind of defeats the purpose if it becomes a disincentive to crunching! Were I to acquire a lot more computer power, IÍd probably have to reevaluate (unless it was because IÍd made some kind of windfall), but so far itÍs worked out OK. I guess my original premise was that the projectÍs operating costs could be ïamortizedÍ in terms of the expenses associated with each transaction with a client ƒ and moreover itÍs another means of memorializing my stats. ;)

P.S. Wish theyÕd get around to fixing the Unicode here É

What an interesting idea! HHhhhmmmm?
1 000 credits = $1
10 000 credits = $10
100 000 credits = $100
1 000 000 credits = $1000

We need to speak to NEZ!

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DONATE TO SETI

Hi all.
Why every completed unit gives a diferent amount of credits?

Why every completed unit gives a diferent amount of credits?

Mainly because they require varying amounts of computation to complete, largely dependent on the AR, “angle range”, of the WU: how far the detector’s aiming point moved through the sky while the data were collected. This affects the amount of processing done on each task, and credit is granted accordingly. In general you should find that the credit earned is roughly proportional to the time taken, although this ratio too will vary somewhat, again according to the AR.

Hi, all! I just got started a little while ago and my first work item has been completed and its it about 8% into the next one. Even though my computer fetched another piece of work and started it, the Project page doesn't show the first one as worked. I even clicked update to update it manually and it still says zero work done.

Am I reading this incorrectly? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks for your help.

Hi, all! I just got started a little while ago and my first work item has been completed and its it about 8% into the next one. Even though my computer fetched another piece of work and started it, the Project page doesn't show the first one as worked. I even clicked update to update it manually and it still says zero work done.

Am I reading this incorrectly? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks for your help.

The work has to be reported from your host to the server (I am assuming that it says "Ready to report" as status in the advanced view - tasks tab).

Reports happen automatically at the first of:

1) Some time after the task completed (current is 24 hours - previous was "Connect every X").

2) 24 hours before report deadline.

3) "Connect every X" before report deadline.

4) A request for more work.

5) A trickle up message (happens only on CPDN and associated projects tasks).

6) Immediately if it is later than #2 or #3.

7) A manual update.

Each project is independent, so for example, a work request for a CPDN task would not update S@H.

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BOINC WIKI

Hi, all! I just got started a little while ago and my first work item has been completed and its it about 8% into the next one. Even though my computer fetched another piece of work and started it, the Project page doesn't show the first one as worked. I even clicked update to update it manually and it still says zero work done.

Am I reading this incorrectly? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks for your help.

Hi Kurt and welcome to Seti@Home,

do you mean this work unit? This one was correctly crunched by your host and now is waiting for your quorum partner to be verified. Each work unit is initially sent out to two host, if they both returned their results (and the results are strongly similar) credits will be granted and added to your account (if the two results are not similar, the work unit will be reissued to a third host (and maybe even a fourth) until there are enough similar results to pass validation).

All you must have is just a little patience, until your quorum partner has returned his/hers result :-)

HTH
Andy