Community Bonding
For the Summer of Code, there is a period/phase of bonding with the community. One might wonder where the MySQL community largely hang out?
Contents |
[edit] IRC
This is on freenode, connect to irc.freenode.net and don't hesitate to join:
- #mysql (general user discussion, end-user support and chat)
- #mysql-dev (general developer discussion, and developer chat. More focused than #mysql)
For more information on IRC, don't hesitate to read the Forge IRC guide.
[edit] Mailing lists
All open development discussion happens on the internals mailing list. Please find out more at the internals mailing list wiki page.
All Summer of Code students and their mentors are required to be on the SoC mailing list for MySQL which is at Soc. Please subscribe, to this, and read it regularly as all announcements go there.
[edit] MySQL Forge
MySQL Forge, i.e. where you are reading this now, is primarily used for listing projects, tracking projects, creating Wiki pages, and hosting content. Everyone is encourage to have a Forge account and must be able to edit wiki pages.
[edit] Planet MySQL
Do you blog? Well, if not, you should start blogging. Planet MySQL is an active blog aggregator feeding lots of MySQL related postings with the ability to increase your blog viewership numbers.
As part of the Summer of Code, you will need to write weekly reports of your progress, and what better way to do this than with a blog? It helps you engage the larger community and get tips and tricks from others, rather than just your own mentors.
Once you have setup a blog, do submit your blog feed.
Need to setup a blog? Consider:
[edit] Know your mentor...
It is important that you know your mentor. Their email addresses should be available to you from the student panel. Contact them, and ensure you get a response. If you do not, contact the MySQL Project Administrator (Colin Charles - colinATmysqlDOTcom).
You are encouraged to also be on some form of IM with your mentor. Skype is popular (as it does voice, and text), and there is also AIM, Yahoo! Instant Messenger, and Google Talk/Jabber.
[edit] Weekly Reporting
NOTE: Weekly reports only need to start May 26 onwards. During community bonding, visibility is important, but weekly reporting is only later. Start a blog, instead. Good luck with your exams!
All students must tell us how things are going. This will enable us to identify problems early, and address them. It also helps show progress, and others might chime in to help as well.
Weekly reports are due on Monday, latest by Tuesday of the week. As a student, you are expected to send the report To:
- your mentor
You are also required to Cc:
- Colin Charles <colin@mysql.com>
You are welcome to Cc:
- soc@lists.mysql.com
You are also encouraged to blog it, so that people not on the lists, can watch your progress. This is not a requirement, but blogging helps increase interest in your project.
The format of the report, is fairly simple:
[edit] KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS LAST WEEK
Here you should give a point by point list of what you've done, and achieved in the last week
[edit] KEY TASKS THAT STALLED LAST WEEK
What had you planned to do, but didn't get around to doing?
[edit] KEY CONCERNS
Are you worried about something? Is something not going your way? Do voice it out here.
[edit] TASKS IN THE UPCOMING WEEK
Tell us what you are planning on achieving in the week
[edit] Contacting your project administrator
In the event of any problems, if you are having problems getting things done, if you are generally requiring motiviation, or you cannot contact your mentor (yes, basically, if you need anything at all), contact Colin Charles via:
- email: colin@mysql.com
- skype: colincharles (supports offline messages)