Wirt writes:

> As to my estimation that each work unit is sent out to eight people,
> I derive that estimate from the statistical data they're currently posting.

The FAQ tells more of the story:

        1.14. What happens to work units that never get returned by us?
              Are they lost forever?

        We keep track of every work unit that goes out - if it is taking
        too long getting the results back, we'll send it out to somebody
        else. Only after we get results back and confirm them we will
        remove the work unit from disk.

Since they have a method of "confirming the results," it appears that
redundant processing is not needed.  The quote also shows why the same
work unit could be sent to eight people.

This quote is in the full FAQ, at:

      < http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/faq.html#q1.14 >

Actually, a later FAQ gives another possibility:

        3.11. Is it likely that so many people sign up that you won't always
              have enough Arecibo data to feed all the clients? If so, how
              will this be handled?

        It's possible. Up to a point, we will handle it by sending the same
        data to more than one user.
        [snip]

--Glenn

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