Google Summer of Code: status of Ruby Central

ruby-talk
1

Hi --

There's a big buzz about the Google Summer of Code program
(http://code.google.com/summerofcode.html), and I thought I'd post an
update (not an encouraging one) here, with regard to Ruby Central,
Inc.

I had hoped that this post would be a call for mentors for the Summer
of Code program. Unfortunately, as of this morning they appear to
have shut the door on further mentoring organzations. The information
on the website is contradictory, and I have written to them asking for
clarification and help. But if the worst is true (the "No" in the
FAQ, as opposed to the "It's not too late" in the overview), then Ruby
Central is out in the cold.

I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, any students who want to apply
should, I'm sorry to say, probably look for another mentoring
organization. I wish it were otherwise, but most of all I do not want
to see anyone's application held up or sidetracked because of these
problems.

David

···

--
David A. Black
dblack@wobblini.net

2

David A. Black wrote:

There's a big buzz about the Google Summer of Code program
(http://code.google.com/summerofcode.html\), and I thought I'd post an
update (not an encouraging one) here, with regard to Ruby Central,
Inc.

[...]

I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, any students who want to apply
should, I'm sorry to say, probably look for another mentoring
organization. I wish it were otherwise, but most of all I do not want
to see anyone's application held up or sidetracked because of these
problems.

Even if chances don't look good at this time for Ruby Central to be accepted as a mentor I would still like everyone to add new items to http://www.rubygarden.org/ruby?HowToHelp -- even if it does not ending up being useful for the Summer of Code it will still provide a central resource for people who are not sure of how they can contribute to the Ruby community.

Thanks for any additions in advance!

3

David A. Black wrote:

Hi --

There's a big buzz about the Google Summer of Code program
(http://code.google.com/summerofcode.html\), and I thought I'd post an
update (not an encouraging one) here, with regard to Ruby Central,
Inc.

I had hoped that this post would be a call for mentors for the Summer
of Code program. Unfortunately, as of this morning they appear to
have shut the door on further mentoring organzations. The information
on the website is contradictory, and I have written to them asking for
clarification and help. But if the worst is true (the "No" in the
FAQ, as opposed to the "It's not too late" in the overview), then Ruby
Central is out in the cold.

Maybe someone here knows: Just how did Google announce this Summer of Code thing? Did it rely on Slashdot? Send notices to favored organizations? Post something on some obscure Google page and just count on the hipsterati to spread the word to their inner circle?

James

···

--
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http://www.jamesbritt.com - Playing with Better Toys

4

Hi --

There's a big buzz about the Google Summer of Code program
(http://code.google.com/summerofcode.html\), and I thought I'd post an
update (not an encouraging one) here, with regard to Ruby Central,
Inc.

I had hoped that this post would be a call for mentors for the Summer
of Code program. Unfortunately, as of this morning they appear to
have shut the door on further mentoring organzations. The information
on the website is contradictory, and I have written to them asking for
clarification and help. But if the worst is true (the "No" in the
FAQ, as opposed to the "It's not too late" in the overview), then Ruby
Central is out in the cold.

I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, any students who want to apply
should, I'm sorry to say, probably look for another mentoring
organization. I wish it were otherwise, but most of all I do not want
to see anyone's application held up or sidetracked because of these
problems.

I believe there is an option for "Other" on the application. If I was
to apply and list Ruby Central as the mentoring organization (whether
it's listed via google as official or not) would there be person(s)
willing to step in to fill that role?

···

On 6/2/05, David A. Black <dblack@wobblini.net> wrote:

David

--
David A. Black
dblack@wobblini.net

--
===Tanner Burson===
tanner.burson@gmail.com
http://tannerburson.com <---Might even work one day...

5

Hi --

I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, any students who want to apply
should, I'm sorry to say, probably look for another mentoring
organization. I wish it were otherwise, but most of all I do not want
to see anyone's application held up or sidetracked because of these
problems.

I should add: it does seem that you can still fill in the "other
organization" field, rather than choosing one of the ones on the list,
if you can make a case for needing to have that organization be your
mentoring organization. But this is where I want to be cautious. I
don't want the process of determining whether Google accepts Ruby
Central to cause a possibly fatal delay in an application. If we can
pre-agree with Google that it's OK, I'll let you know. (And then we'd
also need mentors....) I have not heard back from them yet.

David

···

On Thu, 2 Jun 2005, David A. Black wrote:

--
David A. Black
dblack@wobblini.net

6

In article <Pine.LNX.4.61.0506020611530.15008@wobblini>,

Hi --

There's a big buzz about the Google Summer of Code program
(http://code.google.com/summerofcode.html\), and I thought I'd post an
update (not an encouraging one) here, with regard to Ruby Central,
Inc.

I had hoped that this post would be a call for mentors for the Summer
of Code program. Unfortunately, as of this morning they appear to
have shut the door on further mentoring organzations. The information
on the website is contradictory, and I have written to them asking for
clarification and help. But if the worst is true (the "No" in the
FAQ, as opposed to the "It's not too late" in the overview), then Ruby
Central is out in the cold.

I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, any students who want to apply
should, I'm sorry to say, probably look for another mentoring
organization. I wish it were otherwise, but most of all I do not want
to see anyone's application held up or sidetracked because of these
problems.

I'm not sure why Google was in such a hurry. They just
announced this program on May 31st. It would have been much better if
they had announced it a month or two earlier to give the
'mentoring organizations' time to respond and set up the needed
infrastructure, etc. It would have also given the 'students' more time
to plan and make proposals as well.

From their FAQ:

"What kind of deadlines are associated with the Summer of Code?

      May 31st: Announce on code.google.com and open application process

      June 1st: Last Day new Organizations will be listed on
Code.Google.Com"

One day?! What gives? This all has a smell of a last-minute, hastily
planned project. Hopefully next year they'll give better advance
warning.

Phil

···

David A. Black <dblack@wobblini.net> wrote:

7

Hi --

···

On Thu, 2 Jun 2005, Tanner Burson wrote:

I believe there is an option for "Other" on the application. If I was
to apply and list Ruby Central as the mentoring organization (whether
it's listed via google as official or not) would there be person(s)
willing to step in to fill that role?

See my previous post (crossed in the mail with yours) re the "other"
thing. We can certainly be optimistic and ask for mentor volunteers,
though it may be a matter of getting a project-by-project waiver for
everyone who wants to be mentored via Ruby Central.

David

--
David A. Black
dblack@wobblini.net

8

In article <Pine.LNX.4.61.0506020611530.15008@wobblini>,
>Hi --
>
>There's a big buzz about the Google Summer of Code program
>(http://code.google.com/summerofcode.html\), and I thought I'd post an
>update (not an encouraging one) here, with regard to Ruby Central,
>Inc.
>
>I had hoped that this post would be a call for mentors for the Summer
>of Code program. Unfortunately, as of this morning they appear to
>have shut the door on further mentoring organzations. The information
>on the website is contradictory, and I have written to them asking for
>clarification and help. But if the worst is true (the "No" in the
>FAQ, as opposed to the "It's not too late" in the overview), then Ruby
>Central is out in the cold.
>
>I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, any students who want to apply
>should, I'm sorry to say, probably look for another mentoring
>organization. I wish it were otherwise, but most of all I do not want
>to see anyone's application held up or sidetracked because of these
>problems.
>

I'm not sure why Google was in such a hurry. They just
announced this program on May 31st. It would have been much better if
they had announced it a month or two earlier to give the
'mentoring organizations' time to respond and set up the needed
infrastructure, etc. It would have also given the 'students' more time
to plan and make proposals as well.

From their FAQ:

"What kind of deadlines are associated with the Summer of Code?

      May 31st: Announce on code.google.com and open application process

      June 1st: Last Day new Organizations will be listed on
Code.Google.Com"

One day?! What gives? This all has a smell of a last-minute, hastily
planned project. Hopefully next year they'll give better advance
warning.

To me, it sounds like the pre-selected the mentors, but forgot to
change the text on their site.

On the bright side, it did inspire me to make a donation to
RubyCentral for all of their hard work, and for them coming to bat and
trying to get Ruby into the Summer of Code program.

http://www.rubycentral.org/pledge/

If enough others do that, we can have our own Summer of Code :slight_smile:

···

On 6/2/05, Phil Tomson <ptkwt@aracnet.com> wrote:

David A. Black <dblack@wobblini.net> wrote:

Phil

--
Bill Guindon (aka aGorilla)

9

Hi --

See my previous post (crossed in the mail with yours) re the "other"
thing. We can certainly be optimistic and ask for mentor volunteers,
though it may be a matter of getting a project-by-project waiver for
everyone who wants to be mentored via Ruby Central.

If that's what it takes for me to get to apply this work towards
something that benifits the community, then so be it. In either case,
I'm going to begin drafting an application, so please keep us informed
as to the status of this. Thanks for the hard work!

···

On 6/2/05, David A. Black <dblack@wobblini.net> wrote:

David

--
David A. Black
dblack@wobblini.net

--
===Tanner Burson===
tanner.burson@gmail.com
http://tannerburson.com <---Might even work one day...