I'm a computer programmer living in Johannesburg, South Africa.
I've been taking part in the SETI@Home project on and off over the last 5 odd years.
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
Do I think extraterrestrial life exsists?
It may exist, it may not - that's why I take part in SETI@home... :)
Should humans transmit a beacon for others to find?
I'd say no - who knows how it would be interpreted. At least we can assume that any extraterrestrial coming near earth should (I hope) be able to discern transmissions coming from 'everyday' activities on earth, and not read anything into it. But a beacon sent out specifically for others to find is (IHMO) just asking for mis-interpretation.
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.
