Explicit participation
Background contribution starts OFF. Creating an identity, downloading software, joining a pool or visiting a page does not authorize continuous mining. The browser client connects its device identity automatically after an explicit Start and runs bounded allowlisted jobs for up to 10 minutes, with at most one job per minute. Stop, hiding or closing the app ends that session. The desktop source client remains manual. Stop controls and closing the client prevent further requested work. A submitted result or already-published block cannot be recalled by emergency stop.
The OFF, Browsing, Gaming, Normal, Turbo and custom profiles record requested limits. Gaming requests 8% of available CPU with GPU OFF and never permits a policy allocation above 10% of the available user-visible compute budget. Actual game performance impact cannot be guaranteed. Native CPU/GPU quotas and reliable temperature, battery, foreground-app and performance enforcement remain incomplete; native background work stays unavailable. Browser sessions use low duty cycles and small fixed buffers; percentages describe requested policy budgets, not measured OS quotas. Optional WebGPU is OFF until separately enabled in Normal, Turbo or Custom, and is always OFF in Gaming and Browsing. No device or future GPU compatibility is guaranteed. Do not treat a saved ceiling as measured enforcement.
Local costs and keys
You choose whether to use your own electricity, hardware and bandwidth. No electricity reimbursement, employment, earnings or payment promise is made. Use equipment you are permitted to use and inspect the published software. Do not run on employer, school, shared or third-party devices without authorization. Keep private keys and invitations private; no pool operator receives your key or remote control of your device. Custom servers are independent destinations whose operator and terms you should assess before connecting.
Verification and rewards
Only correctly signed, reproducible eligible results can receive test rewards. Failed, stale, replayed or excluded work receives none. Verification confirms the specific deterministic computation; it does not establish scientific truth or clinical efficacy. The hosted coordinator currently controls admission, sequencing and state. No independent decentralized consensus is claimed.
The configured initial work reward is 22 closed-loop test Points with separate blockchain test units. Halving and a trusted hardware-throughput adjustment can reduce rewards. The throughput feed is not connected to a reliable production hardware collector. Rewards may be zero and do not create a cash claim. Protocol changes need clear prospective notice; no promised financial value is attached to these experiments.
Pools
Pool membership is optional. The pool's fixed disclosed share, currently limited to 0–10%, applies to blockchain test-unit rewards according to the recorded membership/job snapshot; Points are credited separately to the contributor. Joining requires confirmation of that exact share. Leaving stops participation in future pooled jobs; an already-issued job retains its signed snapshot. A pool is not hash-power rental, an investment or a custody arrangement. A pool owner cannot promise returns on behalf of Etheraio or change the recorded fee silently.
Publication and conduct
Node names, IDs, public keys, contribution evidence and pool membership may be public. Do not include personal secrets in names or results. Do not fake telemetry, invent provider signatures, submit other companies' work as yours or tamper with rewards. Resource consent is distinct from agreeing to website terms and must remain revocable for future work. Open-source licences continue to govern the code.