http://boincstats.com/forum/forum_thread.php?id=5882#91905

This is a thread at BOINCstats about the problems created when one changes ISP's, and thus, the email address for the user. It seems that one can lose all sense of identification with one's results.

People change ISP's all of the time and this problem needs to be remedied.

At BOINCStats, they say that changing ISP's can create a new CPID, which, of course, means that all of the past work no longer shows up.

They claim all of this is controlled by BOINC and that any remedy for this needs to come from BOINC.

The one remedy I (naively) proposed was that the CPID (created by BOINC??) become the lynchpin of identity.
Thus, reversing a system used by banks and financial intsititions, the user signing up for a first project would use a password - any password to start the attachment. But, then, once BOINC assigned the CPID, the user would change his/her password to use the CPID as a password and use that on all subsequent attachments.

Well, they were aghast!!! It is a public figure they said. First, who cares?? Second, if that's a problem make it not a public figure.

Anyway, there needs to be a solution for this situation. If BOINC is the right party to make some adjustment, then that needs to take place. If not, then who is the appropriate party to get this fixed?

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All you need is patience.
The cpids will gradually get passed back and forth between your projects as your computer talks to them, and then those that you are still running will be all the same again.
PROVIDED that you change the email address at each project to be the same.

But why change it in the first place?
It's not as if project's are constantly sending people emails, so just keep the old one. BOINC only uses it as an ID, and not for other things.

PROVIDED that you change the email address at each project to be the same.
But why change it in the first place?

BOINC account without a valid email address is like a dead fish. It seems to swim around, but I have no way to control it...
What about notifications from PMs and Message Boards?

Peter

All you need is patience.
The cpids will gradually get passed back and forth between your projects as your computer talks to them, and then those that you are still running will be all the same again.
PROVIDED that you change the email address at each project to be the same.

But why change it in the first place?
It's not as if project's are constantly sending people emails, so just keep the old one. BOINC only uses it as an ID, and not for other things.

Having followed this thread in the BOINCstats forum, I believe the problem is the e-mail address changed from "my former ISP provider.com" to "my current ISP provider.com" and all that follows thereby. mitrichr, I believe, would like to know why this form of account ID is the determining factor in CPID and if there is not a better way to identify a user account.

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What about notifications from PMs and Message Boards?

OK, good point there. I guess that I just don't use that too much.

As for a better way of doing it, there aren't many options, and it's probably that this "seemed like a good idea at the time".
And still is, although it does involve a lot of work for people with lots of projects. Especially those who change their email addy often.
And dead projects can't be updated, so these become orphaned. :(

skivelitis-
Thanks for your understanding of the problem. Apparently, from what I read, I am not the first person to bring this up.

Using an email address as something on which to hang one's hat is an incredibly weak idea.

I started - for some reason so distant in the past that I do not remember - using my work ISP and email address. I am not about to be let go, but...

And, even my home ISP, I am on a good one, a cable provider; but the big national telecom, Verizon, is aggressively courting potential customers with very high transfer rates and very low prices for FIOS service.

In an ever changing I/T landscape, we need something which is immutable, totally idiosyncratic.

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The cpid isn't immutable, but it IS dynamic.
It's just a matter of waiting patiently until all of the projects attached to that computer get a chance to change to the new cpid, and then it's back to normal. Whatever that is. :)

To speed up the process, go to the Projects tab of the BOINC manager, and click on the first project, and then on the Update button.
Wait until you get a reply from the project. (In messages.)
Then repeat the process with the next project.

The projects will gradually exchange cpids until they're all the same again, just with a new cpid.
Then wait until each project generates it's next lot of export files.
Finally, wait until your preferred stats site imports all of the export files and updates it's database.

This has worked for lots of people for lots of years.
It's a bit more complicated with multiple computers, but again, this has been written about many times in many places.

this does not help to link to CPID's / stats for closed projects... ISP's change, email addresses change, I have multiple computers (a farm so to speak of 10-16 computers), and have been BOINCing since the beginning...

multiple CPID's are a fact of life that everyone that is BOINCing will be faced with one day...

I'm sorry, but this is a problem that needs to be addressed, and not dismissed as a non-problem...

Using an email address as something on which to hang one's hat is an incredibly weak idea

But, to be fair, using an ISP supplied email address is also a bad idea. Internet access is now like any other product/service. Consumers change regularly for better deals, just like utility supplies, supermarkets, petrol (gas) stations etc.

Gmail, Hotmail etc offer a great service for ISP gypsies. Also the cost of owning a domain name are minimal, and basic, free, mail routing is perfectly adequate. Just use your ISP's SMTP server if necessary.

So, basically I agree with you :) Alternatives? Register your user name? Unique 7-digit IDs?

But I think the quality and reliability of the free email services makes them a compelling choice compared to using an email address that will change frequently :)

Al.

There's not much point in talking about it in this forum if you actually want it changed. The programmers don't frequent this board.

Anyone who wants this major change made to BOINC will have to sign up for the TRAC system and fill out a request form. Which will require an explanation for an improved system. Then be prepared to defend your idea. Much like a PhD thesis in a way. :)

Oh Joy!!

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