I have to admit, I've only been participating in BOINC projects for a bit less than 2 months now, so I'm somewhat of a noob. But when I look at the
BOINC combined stats, as of this posting there are 933,242 total users, only 275,866 of whom are active - less than 30%. Obviously BOINC has been relatively effective in attracting new participants, but it seems to me that 30% is a fairly lousy retention number, given that the cost of taking part is so minimal. If the future growth of DC projects depends upon maximizing participation - not just on acquiring new members who may quit after 10K or 20K credits - then I wonder if perhaps the current credit system isn't effective enough? Again, this idea is totally out of left field and potentially riddled with problems - I understand that. Perhaps, to those more well-versed in the ins and outs of the BOINC community, this is a completely ridiculous and offensive idea. But I'm wondering if a stronger incentive system is needed to help stimulate continued - and accelerated - growth in BOINC participation as a whole.
Let's face it, the current system is based on a competitive, albeit friendly and cooperative atmosphere of participation. There's no getting around that. And for many (it seems about 30% or so), the credit system and other more personal desires to do some good are enough to keep crunching along. But losing 70% of participants in such a worthwhile cause seems outrageously high to me. So what I'm wondering is, has anybody ever thought of bringing either nonprofit or corporate sponsors in to back a limited award-oriented system? I know, it sounds nuts, but hear me out. What if there were several levels of credit "achievement" across BOINC projects, in the combined stats, for which one was rewarded with, just for example, submission into a random raffle for something like a new PC (for higher credit milestones, like a million or so) or something of lesser value (copy of Vista?) for lower credit milestones. There could be lots of other ways of doing this - that was just my first thought. And no, I don't work for Microsoft.
There are tons of award possibilities. Those were just the first two I thought of.
And I hate to turn this into a corporate-sponsored thing. I realize BOINC is an advertising-free venue, and I appreciate that as much as anyone else. Really. Preferably something like this would be backed by a nonprofit that is well-aligned with BOINC's overall mission. And again, I'm aware this is fraught with potential problems. I'm really just trying to think outside the lines here a bit and am reacting to the 30%-active number, which seems pretty miserable to me. My only interest here is to spark conversation on how we might make BOINC a more productive and successful overall venture - from an intellectual perspective. It seems to me that so much focus gets put on individual and team credit scores, that maybe sometimes we in general lose sight of the health and effectiveness of BOINC as a united movement of sorts. Are we doing the best we can, as a group? Or are we too concerned with reaching the next individual or team milestone to really notice whether the system as a whole is functioning at maximum capacity? (Don't get me wrong - I love watching my numbers. I'm so totally not bashing that.) But if we could turn the 30% active number into 70% active, how much more would BOINC and its participant projects be able to accomplish? And wouldn't a reward system foster greater participation from new members as well? I realize it might sound a bit silly. I mean, would being eligible for some sort of prize really motivate more folks to crunch? I guess to that I would answer: The simple fact of acquiring ever-higher credit numbers keeps a good portion of us crunching away, so why wouldn't a "real" incentive be even more effective?
I have no idea if this has any validity at all, how it would get coordinated, overseen, or even off the ground. I'm really just throwing it out there to think about how me can make BOINC better. Period. Perhaps this is taking a bit of a marketing approach to what is a scientific endeavor, which may or may not sit well with some. It's just food for thought, so please, no angry responses. I'm just trying to explore an option that may or may not have been considered previously, one which could potentially help to take BOINC to the next level. In any case, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts, positive or negative.