Hey all. I'm getting private email about potential project for Google Summer of Code 2013. This is great, and I'm glad to see interest.
Although I've enjoyed mentoring people in the past, I will not be mentoring this year. However, I do plan on reviewing potential GCC/libstdc++ GSOC applications, and voting to select winning projects. I'm using a different selection criteria this year, and wish to share it with potential participants so that they understand how to maximize their chance for selection. Some background on GCC/libstdc++ GSOC is here: http://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/SummerOfCode#Application I will plus potential projects if I see: 1) past evidence of participation in open source community. This can be bugzillas, mailing list participation, beta testing in any form, etc. Be detailed. Be specific. There is never too much info here. 2) proactive stance on assignment paperwork. Getting FSF assignments in place for studen contributors located outside the USA during the North American summer months seems to be especially painful. If you want to work on GCC, and know what you want to do enough to propose something for GSOC, then start getting the assignment in place immediately. There is no "too soon." (IMHO "future" assignments are perfect for this because then participants can work, when it's ready to integrate it can be done simply without having to know exact file names or directories.) 3) post project proposal on public GNU mailing lists 4) timely discussion and replies of project proposal on GNU mailing lists 5) a mentor volunteer for the project 6) a project that looks interesting to me or fills a known need best, -benjamin