On 29/03/2007, at 2:03 AM, Andrus Adamchik wrote:
> I've been thinking about it some more, and IMO the problem is at a
> more basic level. SoC is a PR action by Google and participating
> orgs (including ASF), and as such for the student it does not
> follows ESR paradigm of scratching a personal itch.
It isn't always that way. I hang around the edges of the FreeBSD
project and they have had some very successful projects:
http://www.freebsd.org/projects/summerofcode-2006.html
However, of course they are in a position where they can offer a much
greater variety of projects (an operating system is a big thing) and
they have a project which is more well known and therefore students
come in with greater starting knowledge.
So I don't think that SoC is purely a cynical marketing exercise - it
can have good results in the right circumstances. The ideal student
is one who cares about the project, knows enough to make a
difference, and is willing to follow through even after they stop
being paid because they care about what they create. If I found
students like that, I'd give them a job myself.
Ari Maniatis
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Aristedes Maniatis
phone +61 2 9660 9700
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