It's an interesting discussion they're having over there, and it's not entirely unlike the ones that they were having when several of us left to create Free-DC. I understand what they're trying to do, but to be honest, I don't think that they're going to come up with a definitive set of 'guidelines' for project participation that's going to work. It's just not that simple.
Here at Free-DC, we tend to believe that 'everyone should run whatever they want', and it's worked well for us. In fact, despite our steadfast refusal to concentrate on a particular project, in the end, that's pretty much what we've done. While we compete in a bunch of projects, ranking high in some and not so high in others, I'd say the bulk of our members have their eye on Distributed Folding as it's kind of become our unofficial 'flagship' project. We've taken (and held) the number one spot from Ars without ever having to result to making 'guidelines' or telling people what to run. In fact, I think that's precisely why we've done so well.
I think that in the end, if you don't hassle your members and you just try to create a place that everyone enjoys, most of them will try to do whatever seems to be in the best interest of the team. When things start to look dire in Distributed Folding, the troops come to the rescue not because 'they're supposed to', but because they want to. Now that we look threatened in chessbrain, the same thing is happening. You get the word out and let everyone know what's happening and leave it up to them. Around here, your friends inevitably come and help you kick ass, no 'guidelines' required.
I've been lucky enough to have grown up with parents who have an incredibly strong marriage. Over the years, I think I've discovered how they make it work. My father spends all of his time trying to make sure my mother is happy. My mother spends her time trying to ensure that my father is happy. Neither one spends much time worrying about themselves. Some people might say 'you have to think of yourself sometimes, you have to do what's good for you'. I think that may be true, unless the other person is already spending all their time ensuring that you don't have to worry about yourself. In the end, it just kind of works out right.
I think Free-DC is kind of like that. So long as the community as a whole tries to ensure that the individual members are enjoying themselves rather than worrying about what's best for the group, then the individual members will tend to try to do what's best for the community as a whole, even when it's not necessarily what they would consider best for them.
In case you hadn't noticed, I really like this place and I'm extremely proud of how well we get along and how smoothly things go around here!