[Soc-coordination] let's look for _new_ Debian contributors!

[Gerfried Fuchs]

	Hi!

* Stefano Zacchiroli <zack at debian.org> [2010-03-15 10:33:59 CET]:
> On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 11:13:25PM +0000, Obey Arthur Liu wrote:
> > The program is a unique opportunity for Debian and eager to learn
> > students to meet each other and work together for the duration of a
> > summer. Often this has been the beginning of a great relation,
> > bringing fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the Project.
> 
> Indeed!  So, as a corollary, it is pointless to hire students that are
> already active Debian contributors. That at least is my personal
> feeling, even though past discussions show that it is shared by a good
> deal of project members.

 In the same sense it is also pointless to by definition outrule
students that are already active Debian contributors. The past
discussions you showed doesn't really show a majority for your point of
view, actually I would be surprised if a "good deal of project members"
would rather vote for not participating in GSoC at all to having
NMs/DMs/DDs in the round of students with a fair judging of
alternatives.

> I don't want to rehearse here and now the pro and cons of allowing
> pre-existing contributors, the interested reader can find both positions
> detailed starting from the pointers below (kindly offered by Anthony
> Towns in a recent, though unrelated thread on -vote):
> 
>     http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2009/04/msg00424.html

 This thread clearly points out that Phil was one of three proposals and
that there were actually proper discussions going on about exactly that
point. It somehow feels like you distrust the decision that the GSoC
team made, especially when pointing out this very thread.

>     http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2009/04/msg00431.html

 When showing that message you also should put it into the light of the
answer that Aigars gave.

>     http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2009/04/msg00441.html

 "But DDs are free to apply to other projects" - so actually the sense
of GSoC is to turn away DDs to other projects? I don't buy that
reasoning.

 Actually this approach sounds as fishy as the ones the mobile phone
company providers in austria do these days: They only offer good
contracts to new customers only but don't really do much for keeping
customers. Being a new customer you get by _far_ better rates than being
a staying customer, resulting in people switching every few years after
their contract runs out.

 Actually that's not the part that I would want Debian to go and it's
definitely not the message that I want it to send out.

 And again: Priorities still should (and *are*) new contributors, and
IMNSHO Arthur did mention that quite well in his message. The decisions
in the past were also along that lines. Could the people that whine
about that Phil was a GSoC student last year (and Jeroen the year before
and ...) actually *check* what alternatives there were before they start
a witch hunt?

 Thank you very much,
Rhonda