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. :)