Summarized: CE says the are using your computing power when you install their SW. Their SW downloads and installs something else, BOINC, whatever version, from whatever location, modified or not.

It's not unusual that an installer downloads and install other installers. The average user doesn't care.

If the science results are ok for the projects there is no issue for BOINC as a concept.

To me BOINC and Gridcoin don't look any different because of it. The user makes choices and if legit that's the end I think. The grcpool doesn't allow voting. Does that make contribution to science any less? Does that make it worse for BOINC?

This article has botnet in the title, a word with a very negative connotation. It boils down to not agreeing to the way the client is downloaded and someone not responding to you guys?

In the end it seems like a storm in a teacup. I fail to see the issue here. The internet is full of strange things I don't support. Fine, I just don't use them, if they're no good they die anyway.

Edit: before all wars break loose I'm not supporting CE either, don't know what it is and not interested.