BSoD Official Entry Guidelines.
The Blender Summer of Documentation is a project that is offering users grants to develop documentation for Blender. The goal of the project is to inject a significant amount of high-quality, user-level documentation into the online environment, and hopefully, at some stage, inclusion in print materials.
It has been decided that the theme of this program will be "Blender Basics Bootcamp", thus we are looking specifically for documentation that will lead a beginner through the features of Blender in a coherent and organised manner. That said, we would also like to see each project develop into more advanced concepts, and how it can tie into other areas of Blender, since often taking the jump from beginner to intermediate user can be the most difficult. A simple example may be documentation on lighting, starting with the basic lamp types and leading into lighting setups, skydomes and perhaps even radiosity.
This is user-level documentation, projects proposing code documentation will be automatically rejected. As previously mentioned, the final results of this project may be included in a future version of a Blender Manual, thus, all work must be of written type, with images. All project work is to be written directly into the Blender Wiki (mediawiki.blender.org) utilising a unifying template we have developed. Unfortunately we cannot accommodate video tutorials in this program.
For the above reasons, this program necessitates that the participant release their work under a Free Content type license such as Blender Open Content -
http://download.blender.org/documentation/NaN_docs/license.txt - or Creative Commons -
http://creativecommons.org/
The Blender Foundation is funding this program, providing 10 grants of 500EUR, open to all experienced Blender users, of any nationality, including those for which English is not the primary spoken language. In cases where the writer is more proficient in another language, we will employ the use of translators for the conversion to English. Furthermore, we will be looking at using translators to provide this non-English version of each accepted project.
The program time line is as follows:
1.) Program starts, and proposals are accepted, 27th May 06, 0000GMT+10
2.) Proposals close, 10th June 06, 0000GMT+10
3.) Program leaders rank proposals.
4.) Accepted projects are announced, 17th June 06, 0000GMT+10
5.) Participants start work, 19th June 06.
6.) Project finishes, 19th July 06, 0000GMT+10
Once proposals have been closed and finalised, the project leaders will evaluate and rank each proposals and the top 10 finalists notified by emails and the results posted on blender.org. The lead team will be responsible for oversight of the program and will be keeping in close contact with all participants throughout.
This project has the intention of equating to around a week of fulltime work, to be completed over a period of a month. We expect that the end result of each project will be a minimum of twenty(20) pages of written text, along with demonstrating images as required.
Entry and Proposals -
The sole restriction being placed on participation is your ability with Blender, and you must be able to prove this ability, either by reputation, or through images/demonstration of past documentation, at our request.
To be considered as a candidate for BSoD, you must submit a proposal. This proposal is to provide the program leaders with a basis for judging your suitability for the program.
To that end, it is expected that you should layout, in detail, the topic and basis of your project, covering at least the following points:
a) Synopsis - a summary of what you will write about.
b) Scope/Breakdown - what topic(s) will be covered, and how will it be structured.
c) Deliverables - what the result will be, in terms of quantity, type, etc
d) Biography - Blender knowledge level, past experience, links to existing work, etc
You must provide detail such that the program leaders can assess your suitability for the program. Please feel free to link to images, past documentation, past writing samples, etc., etc.
Do not feel that you may not enter if you do not have past documentation experience. Whilst your proposal will be scrutinised more, we will not reject it simply because of this lack. You may, however, be required to undertake a small writing task that we have developed to assist in providing the required proof of competency.
Once you have completed your proposal, you may email it to
bsod-mentors@blender.org where it will be reviewed and discussed by the lead team.
Project Coordinators -
Timothy Wakeham (timmeh)
David Millet (spiderworm)
Stefano Selleri (s68)
Dolf J. Veenvliet B.A. (macouno)
Eugene Reilly
Questions and Answers:
Q) How does one enter Blender Summer of Documentation?
A) Write up a proposal using the details above as your basis, and email it to
bsod-mentors@blender.org
Q) When do I have to have my proposal emailed in by?
A) Proposals close, 10th June 06, 0000GMT+10, make sure it is in my inbox by then, no excuses will be accepted.
Q) Who sees my proposal?
A) Whoever you show. Once we have it, you are free to post it elsewhere at your discretion.
Q) What is the role of the Project Leaders?
A) The project leaders are responsible for the complete running of the program, including ranking proposals, "mentoring" and helping participants, rating final products, integration of work into the general wiki, and finally, but most importantly, cracking the whips!
Q) How many proposals will be accepted?
A) Blender Foundation is offering 10 grants of 500EUR each, this up to 10 projects will be approved.
Q) Who is eligible?
A) Anyone who has sufficient knowledge, as judged by the lead team, to write on their selected topic.
Q) How much time is required to participate in BSoD?
A) The program will be run over a month, where it is expected that you will work on your project for the equivalent of one week fulltime.
Q) What do I do if I want to write in a language other than English?
A) Be sure to make it abundantly clear in your proposal that you do not wish to write in English so that we can find a translator.
Q) When will I be paid?
A) After the project is completed and the lead team has decided that you met the goals of your project.
Q) Can I begin work before accepted proposals are announced?
A) Ultimately that is up to you.
Q) May I apply more than once?
A) Sure, just be sure that each proposal is up to scratch. Keep in mind, though, that you will only be eligible to do one project.
Q) I'd like to resubmit my proposal, what do I do?
A) Simply resend it to the BSoD mentors mailing list, being sure to include in the subject, that it is a newer version of a proposal.
Q) When will I hear if my proposal has been accepted?
A) Accepted projects are announced, 17th June 06, 0000GMT+10 both by email and on blender.org
Q) What form must the documentation take?
A) Documentation must be of the written type, suitable for an online audience, and based on the Blender Wiki. At this time we cannot accept proposals for video tutorial series, or code documentation projects.
Q) Where can I ask any questions I have?
A) You can direct questions directly to myself at
tim.wakeham@gmail.com
Good luck to all who enter.
Last edited by timmeh on Sun May 28, 2006 5:10 am; edited 1 time in total
Official Guidelines for Blender Summer of Documentation