Post about to go up on the dev blog (versus network, site) (we should really rethink calling it that, since this is where the actual dev blogging happens these days) about GSoC. Applications open today. We’ve created a new IRC Internet Relay Chat, a network where users can have conversations online. IRC channels are used widely by open source projects, and by WordPress. The primary WordPress channels are #wordpress and #wordpress-dev, on irc.freenode.net. room, which anyone is welcome to join: #wordpress-gsoc. Hopefully this will keep the dev chat clear so that it can stay focused on 3.0 progress. I’ve set up three scheduled chats in the #wordpress-gsoc channel for students to come in and ask questions of mentors, but they may pop in at any time, so feel free to lurk. The scheduled chats will be:
- Wednesday, March March 31 at 20:30 UTC (4:30pm eastern)
- Saturday, April 3 at 21:30 UTC (5:30pm eastern)
- Wednesday, April 7 at 20:30 UTC (4:30pm eastern)
An aside: A student wrote to me, bummed out because some had told him that his idea was not appropriate for WP/GSoC. Now, there will be students who suggest things that aren’t appropriate. However, this student wasn’t one of them. The problem was that the person who gave him feedback gave a personal opinion of the project, which the student took to be an official WP opinion. Remember, most of these students are new to the WordPress development community and don’t know who’s who. If you respond to student questions, please identify your role, so they can take it with the right amount of weight. If you’re telling them their idea is no good, especially, make sure to point out that you are a contributor, but that the ultimate decision on projects will be by the mentors listed here. There may be projects that don’t sound so awesome to everyone, but remember that it’s on the mentors and lead developers to make the final decisions on GSoC projects based on what they’re willing to oversee and what will be the most useful to the project at large.
#gsoc
