Google Summer of Code 2011 application

[Brad Roberts]

On 3/8/2011 8:34 PM, %u wrote:
>>> I have the same feeling. I'd like to see such projects. But I
> believe students are more likely to pick feature-oriented projects.
> The stuff that sounds cool.
>> And I wouldn't be surprised if Google as well is also more likely
> to accepted feature-oriented projects than bug-fix ones.
> 
> Wait, I think I'm confused -- which ones are "feature-oriented
> projects" and which ones aren't?
> 
> I'm only a single voice, but for my student perspective, I frankly
> wouldn't waste my time joining a benchmarking project; however, I
> would definitely consider helping get the compiler bugs fixed. After
> all, if it's open-source, then students should be able to help
> contribute, right? What's the point of restricting the compiler work
> to beyond their reach, especially if that's what needs some of the
> most help in and especially if they might be more interested in it?

Out of curiosity, what's stopping you from helping fix bugs right now?  I agree that being paid for it adds motivation,
but if it's something you want to do, do it.