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-rw-r--r--community/gsoc/student_application_form.mdwn99
1 files changed, 83 insertions, 16 deletions
diff --git a/community/gsoc/student_application_form.mdwn b/community/gsoc/student_application_form.mdwn
index 9821f72f..92e835aa 100644
--- a/community/gsoc/student_application_form.mdwn
+++ b/community/gsoc/student_application_form.mdwn
@@ -8,22 +8,89 @@ Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license
is included in the section entitled
[[GNU_Free_Documentation_License|/fdl]]."]]"""]]
-Some of the questions might seem quite intimidating at first. But don't
-despair. Most certainly you won't be able to answer all of them right away --
-this is intentional. The goal is *not* to prove that you already know
-everything. Rather, we want to see that you are willing to do your howework: To
-do some actual research to find the necessary answers.
-
-Most likely you won't be able to get all answers without contacting us
-directly. (On [[IRC]] or using [[mailing_lists]].) This is intentional as well.
-We want to see that you are able and willing to communicate with us, to get the
-information you need. This is also a chance for us to get to know you a bit :-)
-
-Also keep in mind that you do not need to give perfect answers when you first
-hand in your application. The application process allows us to give feedback;
-to request further input on anything that we need.
-
-With these explanations, we hope the questions don't look so scary anymore :-)
+Before we get to the actual application form, some important remarks about the
+application process -- please read them carefully.
+
+Submitting the application form is only part of the deal: we expect a few other
+things on top of that. Lacking these, the application is not complete, and we
+won't consider it.
+
+One of the things we expect is that you contact us directly as soon as possible
+(preferably even before you send the application form), on our developer
+[[mailing_lists]] and [[IRC]] channel. Don't be afraid -- we won't bite :-) IRC
+in particular allows for very informal conversations.
+
+(Note though that we are not all in the same time zone, and people generally
+don't stare at the IRC screen all the time -- it can take quite a long time
+until somebody replies: even several hours. Don't get discouraged by that: Just
+be patient and hang on, or try again later.)
+
+Contacting us as soon as possible is crucial, as regular communication is the
+single most important factor for a successful GSoC project. We need to see that
+you are able and willing to talk to us regularily. Also it allows us getting to
+know you much better than the application form alone could.
+
+You shouldn't be at a loss for reason to contact us. You ought to discuss your
+project and application with us for exmple: You will gain a much better idea
+about the project, our expectations etc. -- in short, you will be able to
+submit a better application right from the beginnig, saving both yourself and
+us some tedious roundtrips :-)
+
+Also, if you really want to get involved with the Hurd project, there are
+surely many things you will want to know :-) All in all, you should have ample
+causes to get in touch during the application period. Bonus points if you also
+participate in discussions not directly related to your project.
+
+The other thing necessary to complete your application is making a change to
+some part of the Hurd code, and submitting a patch with the change. (If you are
+not sure what that means, ask us!)
+
+This is important, as it shows that you have everything set up to start hacking
+on the project (source code, tool chain, testing environment etc.), and that
+you have all kinds of qualifications necessary to successfully finish the
+project: general programming abilities; working in the Hurd environment;
+submitting patches and reacting to feedback; finding and/or asking for any
+information you need; and so on.
+
+Don't get us wrong: We absolutely do *not* demand that you have and know all
+this up front. After all, the idea of GSoC is to *introduce* you to free
+software development in general, and to our project specifically :-) We are
+willing to help you with anything you will need to create the patch -- you just
+need to ask!
+
+We actively encourage you to contact us whenever you have any doubts. Don't be
+afraid that we will think worse of you when you ask too much. On the contrary:
+this is an occasion for you to show us that whenever there is something you
+don't know yet, you are able to learn quickly, and know how to ask for help :-)
+
+As for the kind of change we want: Ideally, it would be some real improvement
+(bug fix or new feature) in a part of the Hurd related to the specific project
+you want to work on. (This is not always possible though -- in that case, a
+useful change to some unrelated part of the Hurd would also do, or perhaps some
+not strictly useful change to the part you will be working on.)
+
+The [[project_ideas]] page has more information on this. In either case, please
+contact us, so we can discuss it, and together come up with something suitable.
+
+Note that we do not place any demands on the size of the change. Even a very
+simple modification suffices to meet the minimum requirements -- after all, the
+amount of time available for working on this before the end of the student
+selection process is quite short; and you are not obliged to do a substantial
+amount of work before you get accepted. (But if you feel more ambitious, that's
+fine of course :-) )
+
+Now to the actual questions in the application form. Please answer *all*
+questions -- we are asking them for a reason. (Whether you answer them one by
+one, or all in a larger piece of prose, is up to you.)
+
+If some of these questions look strange to you and/or you don't quite know what
+to answer, don't despair. This is not some kind of exam -- we do not expect you
+to have good answers for all of them up front. (In fact, we would be very
+surprised if anyone did...) The idea is more that you learn the answers before
+the end of the application process -- with our help. Please talk to us whenever
+you are unsure about something.
+
+And now that you are prepared to face the enemy, here we go :-)
* Please describe the task of the project you want to work on, in your own
words. Be as specific as possible. It's not sufficient to rephrase the