[justin2004]

>There may be a time when we think of computer power as money — Bitcoin is pushing us that way — and we give back by donating a few calculations at a time.

Actually, can't we think of a low/competitively priced resource as a donation? Why can't contributors be compensated? Not thoroughly accounting for value contributed to networks is part of the reason for decreasing employment prospects. Users are taking risk (by spending their time creating value) and uploading it without compensation.

[wolfgke]

It would already be a step into the right direction if institutes using BOINC promise to release any research papers they do (not only the ones generated using BOINC) completely (without exception) under some creative commons license. If they already do, they should advertize this fact.

In other words: Volunteering computation time just to make Elsevier/Springer/Wiley rich or volunteering computation time to an institute which also supports projects that make Elsevier/Springer/Wiley rich is something that I'm dubious about.