Forum OpenACS Q&A: Re: Google Summer of Code 2008 Coming up

In 2007 I submitted GSoC application for Tcl community gaining even some support from Tcl Core Team - see http://wiki.tcl.tk/17872, http://objectmix.com/tcl/15343-google-code-summer-2007-tcl-tk.html. My application was heavily based on OpenACS last year proposal - unfortunately both our organization were not accepted by Google.

This year I feel we should combine our efforts and prepare one application for Tcl/Tk/AOLserver/OpenACS - representing Tcl Community as a whole - this way was successful for Pyton Community which mentored 25 students last year.

Few days ago I've contacted Mathew Burke (http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~mmburke/) who volunteered to be GSoC administrator for whole Tcl Community this year. I've provided him with all the information I gathered last year - especially insight into how GSoC was handled by Python. I've also in private contacted Jeff Hobbs, Donal K. Fellows, Gustaf Neumann and David N. Welton to gain broader support.

Please step in to help our efforts:

1. Review and enhance the GSoC 2008 application at
http://wiki.tcl.tk/20832 so it will be our common effort. It should be noted in application text that we represent three major Tcl open-source projects, so we can gain acceptance from Google.

2. Fill project ideas for students at http://wiki.tcl.tk/20836 you want to mentor. We certainly should note which project referes to Tcl Core, Tk, AOLserver or OpenACS. I believe that many of your last year proposals should be copied to new project ideas if they still apply. Interested mentors should sign in to gmail.com and send their Google logins to Mathew to be included into application. Google requires every proposed mentor to have Google account to be able after project accptance to log into GSoC site at http://code.google.com/soc/2008/.

3. Help us overcome what we've screw last year - belowe is explanation I've received last year from Google:

Hello Tomasz,

First of all, we want to thank you for taking the time to apply.
Honestly, it is simply that we cannot accept everyone and it is nothing
personal. Your application was well done. My only suggestion for
improvement would be to beef up your ideas list, classify tasks as easy,
medium and hard, and perhaps add some text about why each task would be of
value to the community.

HTH,
Leslie Hawthorn
Open Source Program Office
Google Inc.

4. Contact other community members who may be interested - especially those involved somehow in university.

For example I'm an entrepreneur from Northern Poland who runs his own company DAC System heavily based on Tcl technology. I continuously seek bright students at The Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics ETI of Gdańsk Technical University (http://www.eti.pg.gda.pl/). In my processional life I've introduced over 50 people to Tcl and give them basic or more advanced training in companies I've founded or worked for dacsystem.pl, zjednoczenie.com, polska.pl or former arena.pl. So I'm vitally interested in exposing Tcl to young talents.

5. Take a look at Google Summer of Code 2008 site (http://code.google.com/soc/2008/), FAQ, etc so we won't miss any requirement from Google this year.

Regards
Tomasz Kosiak (tkosiak @ gmail.com or dacsystem.pl)

PS. I'm posting this info to Tcl-Core, Tcl-Discussion, AOLserver and OpenACS list to gain broader exposure.