Anyone who says points don't matter doesn't understand human nature. People may select DC projects based on the science. They usually continue them long-term, build farms, join teams, and so forth, because of the points.
People are getting fed up with SETI@home (and other projects - especially Predictor@home), because the membership gets the impression their admins don't care about the membership. I don't think that is true of SETI@home. In their case it's more a case of lack of time and poor communication. In the case of Predictor@home, there may well be a valid case to answer.
SETI@home also have a forum moderation problem. That is, they don't have a consistent and well-structured approach to moderation. In that respect, they could learn a few things from this forum. This is what has caused most (if not all) of the current problems. I'm not bragging here - no system is perfect, but you don't get members who have been here five years or more without having a good system.