An interesting article about BOINC from David P. Anderson

[Skillz]

BOINC in Retrospect

continuum-hypothesis.com

Doesn't look good.

 

[sandorski]

Is there a summary?

 

[StefanR5R]

There is a table of contents at the top:

1. Introduction
2. The origins of BOINC
3. My vision
4. Funding and the NSF
5. The BOINC project
6. Getting off the ground
7. Software, part 1
8. People
9. Software, part 2: quality assurance
10. Volunteer energy
11. BOINC workshops
12. Software, part 3
13. BOINC and UC Berkeley
14. Academic computer science
15. Citizen Science
16. The HPC world
17. Companies
18. The decline of BOINC
19. Science United and BOINC Central
20. The Project Management Committee
21. Analysis
22. Conclusion

The leading paragraph of the "Analysis" section:

I thought that volunteer computing would emerge as an important paradigm for scientific computing, and that it would last forever. But somehow - in spite of the efforts of me and lots of others - it doesn't look like this will happen.

The reasons for this are numerous and complex. I don't claim to understand them, but here are some theories.

 

[lane42]

Nice Read, Thanks Skillz

 

[Pokey]

Thanks for pointing this out, I think. I read it, a really deep dive, and I'll admit to skimming here and there. The essay speaks a lot to the weaknesses of the human race and our inability to work together on a large scale for more than a split second, and our inability to work for the common good. I'll let it go at that. I'm bumming myself out.

 

[mmonnin03]

United Devices, theres something I haven't heard of in some time. Thats the DC app that I 1st started on before switching to FAH when I found out UD was for profit. The essay gives quite a bit of history and names/contributions, more than what I've heard of before all in one place.

The essay really shows DA's ego with the repeated mentions of papers, lack of tenure and his desires to make volunteer computing a mainstay in the CS world instead of making BOINC what it really is; a platform. Infrastructure is literally in the acronym. In the Me section he even mentions how he's not the best leader (not everyone is, I sure am not) but then would not hand it over to another paid person or the PMC.

 

[Markfw]

I did not read the paper, but from comments here, I don't feel that way. Look at what happened to F@H when covid hot ? volunteers came out of the woodwork. People only need a reason, a GOOD reason to devote their time.

 

[crashtech]

I'm having a hard time reading the paper because although the author's claim is that he does not take any of it personally, it doesn't come through that way. Some of it seems to have a kind of bitter rant energy bleeding through the bland language. Maybe it's just me.

 

[mmonnin03]

I'm having a hard time reading the paper because although the author's claim is that he does not take any of it personally, it doesn't come through that way. Some of it seems to have a kind of bitter rant energy bleeding through the bland language. Maybe it's just me.

Not just you. Thats DA. Tenure has nothing to do with BOINC and is only personal to him but was mentioned 4 times.

 

[crashtech]

I'm grateful to Mr. Anderson for his role in bringing BOINC into being, but I cannot help but wonder if the negative energy I perceive from him might be part of the problem at this point. Not that I know nearly enough to make such an assertion, just wondering.