Re: Google Summer of Code

["Ariel Manzur" <puntob@...>]

I added some tasks for lua_qt on the wiki.. I don't think I have an
opinion about the organization issue. I'm up for anything really, I
could have applied to complete these tasks myself, but I figure they'd
have a bigger chance of getting approved if they come from an
organization, and I do think that having solid and accessible qt
bindings for lua would be a great asset to the community.

Are we looking to for some kind of committee, or just a number of mentors?

Ariel.

On Thu, Mar 6, 2008 at 10:24 AM, Jim Whitehead II <jnwhiteh@gmail.com> wrote:
> *snip*
>
>  I wanted to take some time out to review the way Google Summer of Code
>  works, and stress the opportunity we have as a community to
>  participate in this project.  The process begins with the mentoring
>  organization application that we've been developing [1].  Google has
>  the following definition for a mentoring organization:
>
>  "A group running an active free/open source software project, e.g. the
>  Python Software Foundation. The project does not need to be a legally
>  incorporated entity. If you're looking for a broader picture, you can
>  find a list of all mentoring organizations who have participated in
>  the past on the GSoC 2005, 2006 and 2007 pages. Mentoring
>  organizations must produce and release software under an Open Source
>  Initiative approved license in order to participate in the program."
>
>  There are some who are skeptical that any view of the Lua community
>  won't be accepted based on this criteria, but I happen to disagree.
>  Either way, I think it is important to let Google decide whether or
>  not whatever "organization" we use is a valid community.  Consider the
>  following 2007 GSOC mentor LispNYC (http://www.lispnyc.org/home.clp).
>  This is a LISP user group in the metropolitan New York described by
>  the following:
>
>  "Lisp NYC is a group devoted to the advocacy and advancement of
>  professional software developers in their adoption of Lisp technology.
>   We accomplish this through targeted programs of education and
>  outreach as well as regular monthly meetings, email lists, development
>  projects and spirited conversation with NY metro area Lisp
>  professionals."
>
>  It is unfortunate at this time that we don't have a formal
>  organization that works to produce Lua projects, but we do have a
>  community that qualifies by far.  Certainly we could have each of
>  these projects or organizations submit their own applications but that
>  seems to be silly considering  the way we're currently structured.
>
>  Once the mentoring organizations have been chosen by Google, the
>  students are allowed to submit their proposals.  They can do this
>  using an application form, or whatever method we prefer.  These
>  proposals can be based off our project ideas [2], or be entirely new
>  ideas.
>  We as an organization rank these proposals in the order we'd like to
>  see them accepted.
>
>  When this is complete, Google will determine how many projects our
>  organization is allocated, and we offer the top X proposals to the
>  students.  Students may be submitting more than one application to
>  different organizations so this administrative work takes a little bit
>  to shake out.
>
>  When all is said and done, we have a group of students that are
>  working on focused projects over the course of the summer, paid a
>  stipend by Google.  This is an enormous opportunity to get people
>  involved in the Lua community, since money and time often stand in the
>  way of participation.
>
>  We have less than a week to complete our application [3] and submit it
>  to Google.  I am willing to be the administrative organizer for the
>  summer, but I need some help narrowing down exactly what the
>  "Organization" we are using is, and how we would define it.  In fact,
>  the following questions are the most important:
>
>  - Describe your organization.
>  - Why is your organization applying to participate in GSoC 2008? What
>  do you hope to gain by participating?
>  - What steps will you take to encourage students to interact with your
>  project's community before, during and after the program?
>
>  The rest of the questions are more administrative and can be answered
>  without the need for a committee.
>
>   Please take a moment to help think about this, so we don't let the
>  opportunity pass us by.
>
>  - Jim
>