SETI.USA NEEDS A STEERING COMMITTEE NOW.

[Beerdrinker]

I don´t know what to think of all this...There are some valid points all around. Something to really consider...

But...

It all comes down to...Credits. Loads of credits!


If we wanna re-gain the #1 slot again in a not so distant future...We need to KISS...(Keep It Simple Stupid) We won´t gain ANY members before we approach the masses...We won´t get more credits if we do not maximize our current production...I see lot´s of new members joining with a GPU but crunch " the wrong project" with it...


So to KISS..We need only one thing:

We need to act as a team, and get in touch with ALL members. 13.000+ members should be more than enough - if we just point them!

If all existing members added just 1000 CS to their daily production we would produce 46 Mill + per day!! and 1000 Cs per day is not all that much nowadays!

[STMahlberg]

Yes, everyone does have valid points which I wish to make a reply that will undoubtedly be tedious and long-winded but first... Tacos... and a new Caf-Pow.

I shall return...

[Dandasarge]

I don´t know what to think of all this...There are some valid points all around. Something to really consider...

But...

It all comes down to...Credits. Loads of credits!


If we wanna re-gain the #1 slot again in a not so distant future...We need to KISS...(Keep It Simple Stupid) We won´t gain ANY members before we approach the masses...We won´t get more credits if we do not maximize our current production...I see lot´s of new members joining with a GPU but crunch " the wrong project" with it...


So to KISS..We need only one thing:

We need to act as a team, and get in touch with ALL members. 13.000+ members should be more than enough - if we just point them!

If all existing members added just 1000 CS to their daily production we would produce 46 Mill + per day!! and 1000 Cs per day is not all that much nowadays!

With all respect,
Not everyone crunches to make the most credits. A lot of people crunch the credits that make them feel the most productive. I think it is as important that we get the people the info they need. If they want to crunch XYZ we need to encourage it even if it’s the lowest paying project on BONIC because someone crunching XYZ is better then someone leaving the team for a team that supports that project or giving up on BONIC all together. We have to make sure they know what systems will work for them. Something I’m sure is lost in the old forms that we need to relearn.

This team has always been split with the gold fish credit whores and the people that came here because SETI.USA wanted to be # 1 in every project. We can not discourage or make one project more important then another! But we can work as a Team to make our way to the top.

[Beerdrinker]

With all respect,
Not everyone crunches to make the most credits. A lot of people crunch the credits that make them feel the most productive. I think it is as important that we get the people the info they need. If they want to crunch XYZ we need to encourage it even if it’s the lowest paying project on BONIC because someone crunching XYZ is better then someone leaving the team for a team that supports that project or giving up on BONIC all together. We have to make sure they know what systems will work for them. Something I’m sure is lost in the old forms that we need to relearn.

This team has always been split with the gold fish credit whores and the people that came here because SETI.USA wanted to be # 1 in every project. We can not discourage or make one project more important then another! But we can work as a Team to make our way to the top.

Agreed. But which top are we aiming for?

Some likes mega milestones
Some like credits, chasing the #1 overall
Some like FB, chasing the #1 spot there
Some like Project #1, constant defending positions..

There is no way in H.... you can match those criterias!

Incresing points can:

Make more credits for megamilestones
Make more credit for overall
Make more credits for FB
Make more credits on individual projects.

Like I said...KISS.

We all take a stand. Saying: " I am gonna increase 1-2000 points on my daily production!"

That will affect EVERYBODY!

[Teratoma]

As previously stated, I am not against any idea that will benefit this team.

I AM, without reservation, against any self proclaimed ANONYMOUS saviour that expects us to follow his/her step by step guide to success.

If any clarifications/decisions are needed here I'll provide it.

WTF?! Are you all ready to buy into that? Since when did we allow any one individual make decisions for us let alone an outsider who doesn't have the balls to name themself? Why remain anonymous? If this is all for our benefit and this person will truly be our "messiah" what is he/she hiding? What other agendas are we not being told about. I think that all of you are intelligent enough to not allow this in your personal life, so why tolerate it here?

I think that collectively the "regulars" here can provide the leadership we need via consensus. If you feel that a formal change is necessary, then by all means continue this discussion and we can come to an agreement on what form and how this change can be made. But please, do not allow yourself to be led by anyone but your own common sense.

[STMahlberg]

I will start off by saying that I hope that this discussion will not fizzle out like the other threads of similar content have in the past.

There are many good points that have been brought up, I can certainly understand that no one wishes to have a repeat of recent history and have to go through another exodus but at the same time we should not be afraid of something that 'might' happen.

We should not be afraid to take actions that have the potential to improve this team. I know it has been said that, "we have tried that before and failed." Keep in mind this team has changed since then... we have some new members and some of the old members are gone.

So what is the harm in trying once again? Imagine the benefits if it works!

Perhaps you don't like the term Steering Committee, perhaps it's to stringent of a term but regardless of what you call it, it is a compass or perhaps better a sextant. An instrument that can tell us where we are and which way we are headed.

To have such a device in place does not take away peoples choice, it provides choices with better information and nothing will take away free will.

DrPop is correct... we are loosing ground. So how's it feel to be 3rd in the world in credit and 5th in RAC? Do you like it? Do you like being loosers to France??? We have a frakin state bigger than their whole damn country!

The writing on the wall. We need to make decisions and then ACT on those decisions. No one is going to be made to crunch anything against their will.

I know that we all like to do different things here, we all have our pet projects but I believe that we can all do our own thing and still have a more focused direction.

Just more thoughts...

[STMahlberg]

Agreed. But which top are we aiming for?

Some likes mega milestones
Some like credits, chasing the #1 overall
Some like FB, chasing the #1 spot there
Some like Project #1, constant defending positions..

ALL OF THEM!

There is no way in H.... you can match those criterias!

Why not? You said it earlier... We have 13,000+ members.

[Dandasarge]

Agreed. But which top are we aiming for?

Some likes mega milestones
Some like credits, chasing the #1 overall
Some like FB, chasing the #1 spot there
Some like Project #1, constant defending positions..

There is no way in H.... you can match those criterias!

Incresing points can:

Make more credits for megamilestones
Make more credit for overall
Make more credits for FB
Make more credits on individual projects.

Like I said...KISS.

We all take a stand. Saying: " I am gonna increase 1-2000 points on my daily production!"

That will affect EVERYBODY!

As long as you’re chasing your dream you will increase production. I agree with two good points. It dose have to stay simple KISS is great. The team members should to put the effort to work on increasing WU production. I feel like a lot of people have forgotten there dreams and hope to remind them all the importance of these prodjects.

If you want mega milestones then chase that
If you want to be #1 in every project then chase that.
Exc Exc.

Improving our best (as individuals) is what I will agree and I think everyone will.

I truly believe that overall #1 will come as a byproduct from an overall effort to improve. If you must ask #1 in what? How about in the most friendly helpful team? Is there a scale for that? No there isn’t. I bet every member here that has been around any amount of time can remember trading info helping other teams/ having other teams help us they see what we are about like it and join. That’s how we become #1 in all criteria’s.

[Fire$torm]

Here I come to save the day....... Now don't be a hater (This is a joke. This is only a joke)

OK my 2%. The fire has been stoked so we can feed it and see if it can clear a path back to SETI.USA being #1 by any measure or we can let it burn itself out.

It might be a good idea to employ "Roberts Rules of Order" here as well as any thread regarding team policy. Just a thought.

There have been many good points and ideas posted in this thread. Also valid warnings that should not be ignored. That said, it should never be a bad time to do or try things that have the goal of HELPING the team.

Personally, I prefer the concept of groups that can focus resources based on a like minded idea. There are team members that live for Mega Milestones so why not have a MM focus group for that purpose. A POTM group is a killer idea. I do the currently unofficial Team Focus Project-MilkyWay@Home and will probably never stop crunching it.

Since this team has, from its inception, been a crunch what you want thing, then let us USE it to our advantage. I think one of the factors (As there have been many) that led to many members leaving this team has been a lack of consistency in certain areas like the Team Newsletter. Some would call it an absence of commitment. Well, so be it. That was the past. All roads lead to the future. If one's attention is fully on what has gone by then that one cannot successfully navigate what is directly in front of them.

If our new poster is in fact an old friend then that may be an indication of a serious problem with SETI.USA. Think about it. If a former member needs the vale of anonymity in order to attempt motivating this team, that is a very scary thought. No former member should EVER feel the need to hide who they are in order to be heard. And I for one do not like even the possibility of it.

Nuff said, for now....

[DrPop]

Alright, "for now..." just ended, because I can't hold it back any longer.

We must rid ourselves of the notion that we can be all things to all people...that is, if we want to excel at any one thing. Cliche time..."jack of all trades, master of none", etc, etc. Those sayings came into being for a reason.

Let's try this another way. Pick a team sport. Any one. Emphasis on team here, not individual sports. Pick your favorite player. If you picked a football player, is he/she much good at say, basketball? How about a relay team...think they're worth much in a hockey match? Ad finem....

Why do people seem to think BOINC is any different than anything else in life? This isn't a sacred cow here. The same rules apply to BOINC as every other group undertaking in life. Every single sport, business, enterprise - whatever it is, insert it here - has goals, purpose, direction, backing...or eventually, it fails.
Our team refuses to define itself. We must lay down in black and white exactly what we stand for, what our mission is, and it has to be tangible. Measurable, to check if we're even accomplishing it. I really don't care what you all want to pick for those - I might be interested, or might not be in this team after a true direction is chosen, but that's just it. We are letting the fear of losing more members keep us from making a decision. So we lose them anyway, to a bolder team willing to define itself, or one that particularly calls to their desire, whether it is #1 overall, MMs, friendliness, etc, etc.

Crunchers are no different than any other form of hobby or sport folks. They need a team banner they can line up behind, whose goals and philosophy they agree with. Right now, we claim "anything goes", but that's why so many have already left. And why new members don't seem to be super active or even know where to start. If we don't set a coarse and stick to it, then we have already chosen mediocrity for ourselves by choosing not define ourselves.

Just remember this before you add some more flames on the fire: the original SETI.USA founders put their balls on the line and said, "We will be #1". And, in time, so they became.
Once that goal was achieved, however, their vision became less clear, and the next goal was hazy...a definitive target was not outlined, and the team began to fall, floundering in the bitter darkness that all greatness inevitably sinks to for a time before it surges onward to greater feats...or sputters out like a candle in the wind.

Today we stand together in the gap. If we hold, there is promise of a brighter tomorrow. We are that thin, defining line between the future as a winning team and nothingness for SETI.USA. Where is that line today? What will we become?