On 04/05/2012 02:49 PM, Gregory Varnum wrote:
I was more referencing that like the Flickr
applications - we have a case of multiple students proposing projects around similar
topics. I'm not discouraging that by any means - just being transparent with folks to
be mindful that we have a limited number of spots given to us by Google - so all of them
being SMW related or Flickr related is unlikely. In others words, the competition for you
is higher if you're proposing an idea in a similar topic area as other students. That
shows that there are needs in those areas - certainly - which helps - but..well..hopefully
you get what I'm trying to convey. :) I just don't want people surprised if one
SMW proposal is accepted and theirs is not.
To be specific: the conflicts I know about do not include Semantic
MediaWiki. They are:
Flickr upload:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Drecodeam/GSoC_2012_Application and
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Davidpardz/GSoC_2012_application
and
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Johnnorro/GSoC_2012_application
and
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Trinhtomsk/GSoC_2012_application
. Drecodeam's application is the one that has a mentor championing it
(Ryan Kaldari).
Watchlist:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Bagariavivek/GSoC_Application and
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Blackjack48/GSOC_proposal_for_watchlist…
(also the evidently abandoned proposal
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Deepanshu/GSoC_Application )
Editor rewards/ "Who's been awesome":
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Shubh09/gsoc and
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Erangamapa/mygsoc
Historically, sometimes we receive multiple proposals for very similar
tasks for Google Summer of Code, but we only accept one. Factors going
into our decision will include: which proposal is better, which student
has participated more in the Wikimedia community, which student has
better technical skills, and which student has better communication
skills. Therefore, every applicant should watch out for other students
who are making very similar proposals, and Gregory and I have aimed to
specifically alert students who are facing conflicts. Those students
should either choose to strive to make their applications regarding that
topic the best it can be, or one of them should choose a different topic.
We will find out how many slots Google allots us by April 20th.
Oy - I love GSOC but the whole competition part makes
me sad. :)
On balance I like the competition. The scarcity of slots does spur
better proposals and better preparation, and it's better that students
learn the importance of preparation and community engagement (possibly
by being rejected) as early in life as possible. :)
--
Sumana Harihareswara
Volunteer Development Coordinator
Wikimedia Foundation