RationalWiki talk:Folding@home

We should figure out a way people can find this by "accident" without plastering it all over the main page... 05:04, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Why don't we advertise it at the top of the Saloon Bar and Talk:WIGO CP? That way the regulars are more likely to see it, and join.   05:10, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Or the chalkboards perhaps. Ace McWickedDisco Jesus 05:13, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Well, I'm signed up. We'll see how well it all works, my computer can be a little cranky about cycles. But it's worth a try. --Kels 05:17, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Don't forget to replace the tumbleweeds with your name ;) 05:18, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Yeah, feel free to slap it on the chalkboard. It'll stay up for a while, at least.  Maybe add it as an item at wigo-blogs?   05:18, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Oddly, it's not listing me as part of the RW team. I entered the number, and when I hit "team statistics" it gives me the team page, but my own stats list me as not being part of a team.   --Kels 05:39, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * That might be because there are already two Kels'. You'll have to choose another name—"Kels of RationalWiki" or "Kels in Canada" or something like that.  (Sorry about that—most four-letter combinations have been taken already.)   05:55, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Should add that caveat to the instructions? 06:06, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Probably.  06:08, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I'd do it, but you might word it more appropriately, being more involved there? PS, I hope this interest was not spurred by some personal tragedy. That would suck.  06:28, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I think the username only has to be unique within a team (it allowed me to use Nx despite there being two already, in two different teams). And you won't appear on the team page until you send in some results. --  Nx / talk 07:45, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Well, no recent personal tragedy or anything. My paternal grandmother, and my father's best friend both died of cancer, but that was many years ago, not terribly recent.  As well as the usual smattering of people I've known over the years, plus when I was working in home care I helped several people who have since passed away from it.  But it's more that it's a good idea and in line with things that interest me, rather than a specific personal thing. --Kels 13:57, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Don't know if it has already been mentioned, but the World Community Grid is another interesting project of the same sort. It allows you to contribute your CPU time to multiple research projects. Results will be released into the public domain, i.e. they will be freely available to researchers worldwide (an aspect which I consider very important). --Just passing by 08:15, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I tried this with that SETI one a few years ago and it slowed by computer down to a crawl by hogging the virtual memory. Will this be any different? Totnesmartin 08:50, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Depends on how much physical memory you have. The first time you run it it asks how big the sample size should be (or something like that), I chose big (out of small|normal|big), and now each process uses 10 Mb. For some reason there are 16 processes, of which 12 are sitting idle since there are 4 cpu cores, but that's still less than what e.g. firefox needs. --  Nx / talk 09:12, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Scratch that. It suddenly told me the files were corrupted, deleted everything, redownloaded the "core" and now it's almost 100Mb per process. --  Nx / talk 10:39, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Doesn't sound all that compatible with my sound and video editing I'm afraid. There's not much room after I load a 45 minute sound file. Totnesmartin 12:35, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Depends; if you do it only occasionally, you can just shut down the client and then restart it after you're done. If on the other hand you do it all the time, then it probably isn't a good idea. --Just passing by 13:00, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I support the World Community Grid using the BOINC client on my Ubuntu PC and don't notice it's there. When the PC is idle it takes as much as it wants, when I'm busy it's quiet. I can't speak for the folding@home version. Silver Sloth 13:38, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Rename?
After seeing the other distributed computing projects people here are involved with, perhaps we should rename this something charming like "distributed computer projects" and have sections for each one? 23:16, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Sounds like a good idea. --Kels 23:20, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
 * The WP article gives the info and folding@home seems to be the only one with a RW team. My vote - and I'm in the World Community Grid - is that we simply add a section at the end saying that there are others with a WP link. Silver Sloth 11:52, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

The RationalWiki Team
I joined, but I'm not showing up. -- 17:13, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * From what I can see, you don't appear on the team listing until you've completed at least one work unit. --Kels 17:15, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * And that takes? -- 17:17, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * That takes until you've completed a work unit. Can't you read? --Kels 17:23, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Lily
You, uh, do know you don't have to have your computer "always on" in order to take part, don't you? It can simply run in the background when you're using it. --Kels 18:28, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * She does kind of have a point about the header though. Making it in a strange way, but whatever.  Can't it just say "Team RationalWiki"?  19:13, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I turn my computer off when it's not being used- but I use F@h anyway. -- 19:50, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm satisfied just to have it called "Team RationalWiki" without casting aspersions on other editors. Otherwise it's too much like CP - "If you don't agree with our position then you're an evil liberal atheist". 19:55, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I've deleted both sets of vitriol. However, I do agree about the original section title. The tumbleweeds were offensive, and this was barely lessened by the replacement with some names which smacks of holier-than-thouism. In the past I have made pleas for some sort of social action just as others have done in things like WIGO:World calling for people to support Troy Davis (four, yes just four votes). It is highly judgemental and offensive to vilify others just because they don't agree with your way of doing things. We all have our own consciences to follow and our own ways of following them. I had to put up with a lot in looking after my wife when she was having treatment for cancer but that was nothing compared to what she had to go through. Since then we have both raised funds for a particular type of cancer research; our combined total is now over £2500. That's not boasting, I have never blackmailed anyone here to contribute. The implication that I (as the RWian) was somehow an uncaring and heartless bastard because I didn't install a certain piece of software on my computer was exceedingly hurtful. (And we know who we originally have to thank for that.) 20:18, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * My brother set up my PC to run only the most essential services. When my computer runs more CPU cycles it gets hotter, "running in the background" does not have zero environmental cost. I run sponsored half-marathons for breast cancer and work as a volunteer counsellor in a Women's Health Unit, often dealing with women with cervical or breast cancer. Anyone else like to help out there? 20:27, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I'd like to apologise if I've upset anyone or caused offence, but I've been dealing with a tragic case of a mother with two young children who has a very poor prognosis and I'm using some large glasses of Bacardi to help me sleep tonight. 20:40, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
 * It's ok, no harm was done, and the rude header got fixed, so all is better now. We all make "interesting" edits from time to time... 00:48, 10 June 2009 (UTC)
 * lol @ wimps who don't use computers for heating (Yes, it's June and the basement at my home is still cold if I turn my computers off).  01:38, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

I'd like to say that RA has contacted me by email and apologised for the section title which he now realises was a poor choice of words. Kudos to him for the apology, and thanks. 13:44, 10 June 2009 (UTC)