[OLPC-GSoC] Congratulations to the winners - and to the rest

[Michael Stone]

On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 11:08:21AM -0500, Alex Escalona wrote:
> Wow, this is really great news! As a student applicant who was not accepted,
> I am still hoping to see my proposal ("Your voice on XO") to fruition. At
> the same time, I am ready to roll up my sleeves and help in any way possible
> as a novice programmer at OLPC.

I just picked Alex' email because it was handy - my comments are really
addressed to all those developers, young and old, who are joining our
community as a result of work that they did in pursuit of GSoC slots.

  First, to those of you who did not receive a slot but who intend to
  perservere anyway - thank you. Thank you for sticking with us in spite
  of unexpected bumps in the road, thank you for doing what you can
  enliven the OLPC development community, and thank you for writing free
  software for children all over the world!
  
  Second, to everyone - as you struggle to learn how this corner of the
  world works, you may, at some point, become frustrated. :)

  When you do, smile, go for a walk, and then write some email politely
  explaining the source of your frustration and what you think could be
  done to improve the situation. Then rinse and repeat.
  
  In exchange, we'll do what we can to offer you a happy development
  experience and to ensure that your efforts reach the people using our
  laptops and software every day.

  Does this sound like a fair deal?
  
Michael