Mycroft, thank you for having the consideration to look into this matter once again. I realize that it is an unpleasant position to be in. It didn't feel too great from my perspective either. Still, if we don't insist on always maintaining an honest yet constructive dialogue under all circumstances, minor situations like this can easily get completely out of hand. And that would not speak well for any of us, or our work together.

You guys do a great job under often trying circumstances.

Rest assured that the members will always be around to make certain that it is as trying as is humanly possible.

Thanks again, buddy.

Have a very pleasant and safe weekend (or holiday weekend in the U.S.) everyone.

Hey, CajunQuEeN. FYI, no offense taken by your post. It's your opinion, and that is totally fine. In fact, most of the time I would be agreeing with you.

BUT (figures, doesn't it!) this is an important thread. It's not about IBM, or who's in charge. Who really cares? It is about ensuring that there is always an open and constructive dialogue between the Admins and members.

Besides flame wars and irresponsible/destructive posting by members, the next best way to kill a forum is through overly regulatory or abusive behavior towards the members by the forum moderators.

As forums grow they inevitably attract a broader range of members with different styles and values than those of the initial founders. This is a very difficult and potentially dangerous transition for the Admins. It is not an enviable position. While there have been very occassional misunderstandings, this forum has an excellent track record. But the only way that this can continue is through the conscious determination by both members and admins alike to build and maintain relationships built upon mutual respect and trust. Free, uncensored and constructive dialogue, structured so as to respect individual differences while maintaining the core purpose and basic dignity of the forum is essential for this process to succeed.

I urge you not to misconstrue the real constructive purpose of this dialogue (by at least some of it's participants) despite the superificial irrelevance of the topic. To anyone who reads this thread, I would hope that you would not be "put off" but rather encouraged by the willingness and dedication of everyone involved to resolve occassional differences in a way that builds relationships and promotes the successful completion of our important work together.

We have an important advantage. No one would be here if they didn't care and if they weren't willing to actually "walk the talk." These are ideal circumstances for those who are committed to building a truly humanitarian on-line community.

As Waldrop points out so effectively in his book, "Comlexity:" All living organisms/systems emerge from a highly charged and unpredictable boundary where order and chaos meet. The fate of emerging life is largely determined by it's success in "coevolving" with other existing living systems.

The basic challenge that all life faces is simple. Either we live and thrive together, or we are brushed aside by those who can.

As a total newbie to the "Grid", I hate to even jump in here, but it seems an appropriate place to state the following. It was a leap of faith for me to download the software required and let it run on my PC. With the constant affronts to home PC security that we all face on the web everyday one has to feel that the source of and purposes for an application such as this are above reproach and technically up to the unfortunate challenges the web can provide to the average home PC user, or that the goal is worth the risks.

I have to say that it was an endorsement/news item I heard on NPR that was the greatest motivating force effecting my decision to make my machine available. Browsing the home site for WCG actually made me a bit more apprehensive about the whole thing (due to the relative anonymity of the "Who we are" section), but if it is, in fact, on the "up and up", then it was something I wanted to be a part of. In fact, my zealotry over this phenomenon caused me to send emails to everyone on my mailing lists asking them to consider taking part in this project. I was disappointed, however, to hear back from some of the more sophisticated PC users expressing cynical sentiments as to the real motivations and goals of the administrators of this project. For example: "Just because there is a cute graphic of a protien folding on your screen, how do you know for sure that personal data isn't being mined, PC usage isn't being monitored, or that ours PC's aren't being hijacked for political, military-industrial, or worse yet, terroristic purposes?" I have nothing to offer for an answer to these concerns, and unfortunately, for the skeptical potential participant, neither does the info offered on the WCG web site.

As I said, for me it is a "leap of faith", and my willingness to risk reformatting my hard drive, in a worst case scenario, to be a part of something that is so noble at it's face value, but I feel many people need more reassurance. IMHO, the home web site needs more assurances for potentially willing participants that: 1. this program really is what it states it is, 2. that there are well known, reputable people endorsing this project, and 3. there are competent administrators (with faces) responsible for the security of the system.

Thanks for your attention, and Godspeed.

Scott and everyone, good points and well taken. One last thing....

If anyone has any links to a philantropic project, sponsored by a public corporation, that shows a satisfactory amount of information of who is behind it, please post the link here so that we can learn from it and provide better information for our members.

Thank you.

Scott --
I am sorry that you feel this way and are turning your back on the humanity that will be helped by the results of this project. Reading back through the thread, I believe that several of us tried earnestly to answer your questions. Unfortunately, I do not think that there is the organizational structure you think exists behind the project and, for some reason you took offense to this. Perhaps you should contract with IBM as a management consultant and tell them how it should be organized. I believe that social skills were lacking on both sides of this.