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EVGA has now officially and totally whored out what we have worked very hard for over the years.
).Exactly, you're 100% correct. Much like the arguement of which individuals actually process more science research, those with a few mega-point capable -bigadv/SMP machines or the guys with the huge GPU farms like Atlasfolder, or we can go further in that debate and bring FELCOM into consideration who has completed one-third of a MILLION WUs almost entirely on P4 machines.
Meh, it's not that...most of us have joined the "quit bitching and build more boxen" crowd since last week.
Nowhere to really go but up from here. We can complain, nothing will get done other than we have a momentary "feel good" moment, but the ranking won't change and we'll just look even worse to the people on their team who actually do give a shit about the cause and who actually do value folding as more than just a team competition or a "earn free crap" thing to do. They may have a corporation behind them, but a fair amount of their members do try to keep things civil and put more stock into the cause (as a whole) than the competition.
I care, I just choose not to gripe about it anymore because it won't solve anything.
Couldn't resist Zero....
I've been reading [H] reviews for almost 10 years now, and I don't remember seeing F@H consistently used in reviews. I think I recall what you're talking about, but I don't believe it lasted very long, and in any case, it hasn't been done in years.
If they include a sheet about folding with their GPUs then I say all the better for promoting the project.
The situation is completely different. EVGA isn't actually allowed to distribute the client (according to the F@H rules the client can only be obtained directly from the official site), so all they would be doing is promoting the project. The most they can do is direct people to the site while asking that they fold for EVGA. What Google did was to build the F@H functionality into their toolbar, so by opting in you would automatically be folding for their team. They had a direct hand in getting people to fold under their name, whereas EVGA can't do the same thing.
Probably, if clients bothered to look at it. I don't know about you but unless I purchase a product I am unfamiliar with not having any prior experience with similar products, I generally take the item out of the box and install it. I rarely make use of included software or documentation, it all goes in the trash. I almost exclusively refer to digitized documentation when the need arises.
True, yet EVGA is skirting other areas well in the grey zone of what's deemed permissible by a corporation. So, they are not including the F@H software with their products nor are they distributing the clients in any way directly. By offering very tempting financial incentives to fold is not exactly kosher either. There exist other possible avenues a corporation can pursue financially to further their influence in F@H that are not readily observable either. I can think of at least two to three possible ways corporate might has an enormous advantage over most other DC communities. One of them is obvious to most and it is advertising.
The average Joe Schmo consumer is more likely to read the included documentation than an enthusiast who knows what they're doing. EVGA's consumer base is probably made up of a significant amount, if not a majority, of those kinds of people.
I think if Pande Group was going to sanction the EVGA team for the corporate involvement, they would have done so already. At this point, we need to stop worrying about whether or not EVGA's actions are legitimate, because in the end, the amount of points they bring to the table are still of considerable benefit to the project. Like I've said before, if [H] wants to pass EVGA, the team needs to focus on positive ways to increase its production, and not dwell on any problems that people may have with EVGA. We can scream and shout about corporate sponsorship until we're blue in the face, but the only thing that will accomplish is making our throats sore. The situation with EVGA isn't going to change and there's nothing any of us can do about it.
I knew you were going to reply with this or something similar and I can tell you that most people I have come across both on and off the Internet do not. Whether they constitute the average "Joe Schmo" I think our opinions will decide, but it's not what's being discussed here...
You betcha, and I do not expect any censure from PG.
I beg to differ. As long as this issue keeps on resurfacing, that in itself indicates that there exists an issue, and it needs to have resolution. Nothing that continuously rears its head as often as this very controversy should be silenced. It will set precedents and already has. A competition cannot continue if it is a competition in name only.
Here I agree with you. That said, this is a forum where a large DC community communicates. There are so many people it cannot be steered in one direction or maintain topical policy for long. If people feel the need to voice their opinion, certainly nothing you and I are going to say will change things much. Bickering about the bickering is just, well, more bickering.