You are quite right, World Community Grid have very high standards for accepting projects.

Firstly, they have to meet 4 basic requirements:

1. The project must be of benefit to humanity.
2. The research group must be a non-profit organisation.
3. The project must be technically suitable for running on the grid.
4. The results must be released in the public domain.

The researchers submit a proposal: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/bg/rfp.pdf

The World Community Grid staff will check all these requirements at a very early stage in the process. Then the staff help the researchers refine their proposal and fill in various technical details. Next, the proposal is evaluated by at least two qualified reviewers. Generally, this means other scientists working in the field - people who really understand the scientific merit of the proposal. When they are satisfied, the proposal is put to the Advisory Board.

Any of the Advisory Board members can raise objections, but generally the work that has already gone into ensuring the proposal is sound means that the Advisory Board's role is purely formal. Projects are reviewed on a quarterly schedule.

After that, there is a load of legal stuff, and all the technical work and planning that must be done pre-launch. This process usually takes about 6 months.

World Community Grid staff meet regularly with the researchers, before, during and after the grid phase of the project.

The details of the selection criteria are gone into in much more depth in the RFP document (link above)

Some of the project proposers have a serious problem with the concept of receiving all that crunching power for free, but in return have to provide the final data product to the greater research community... put it in public domain.

Yeah, that one looks moderately interesting. Again, no Mac support... *sigh*

If they're there and smart, they'll be making sure not to tell us. In probabilistic terms they're either far far ahead or far far behind.

But, the body snatchers are here and will cause your brain to go in vegetative state

"all but about 2 of the worthy projects that exist are on WCG"

That's a very high horse you ride. Many will differ with you vehemently. There are quite a few worthy projects, though the ethos of "public domain" as carried here I've not seen anywhere else given such importance. To me, and I will not name them, some are pet projects. The list that sits in the BOINC Manager project selector have received scrutiny, enough to make them considered.